Zohran Mamdani: The Mayor of Many Firsts

SERPONG, ULTIMAGZ.COM — Do Ultimates ever hear the name Zohran Mamdani? He is an American politician who was elected as the Mayor of New York City on November 5, 2025 and officially took office as the 112th Mayor on January 1, 2026. Prior to it, from 2021 to 2025, he served as the representative for the 36th district of the New York State Assembly, covering the Queens area.

Zohran Mamdani born on October 18, 1991, in Kampala, Uganda, and grew up in a prominent family. His mother, Mira Nair, known as the award-winning Indian-American filmmaker, for movies such as Monsoon Wedding. His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a renowned academic, political scientist, and anthropologist. His family lived briefly in South Africa before eventually settling in New York City when Zohran was just seven years old. 

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But before he was writing legislations, he was writing lyrics! Mamdani was active in the local hip-hop scene, releasing music under the monikers “Young Cardamom” and “Mr. Cardamom.” During his first political campaign, he even jokingly referred to his past self as a “C-list rapper.” 

“When you are a C-list rapper, seeking to get the word out about your music, in many ways you are using the same principles of being an organizer,” Mamdani explained in a 2020 interview with the Indypendent.

He later earned a degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College in 2013. After college, he entered the trenches of the city’s affordability crisis as a foreclosure prevention and housing counselor in Queens. He spent his days helping lower-income immigrant homeowners negotiate with banks to avoid eviction.

Frustrated by a housing crisis that he felt valued profits over people, he ran for the New York State Assembly in 2020. Running as a Democratic Socialist, he pulled off a major upset by narrowly defeating a five-term incumbent in the Democratic primary.

During his tenure in the State Assembly, Mamdani became known for fierce, on-the-ground advocacy, according to CNN. In late 2021, he joined a high-profile hunger strike to demand life-saving debt relief for struggling NYC taxi drivers. One of his signature achievements in the Assembly was helping to launch a pilot program for fare-free bus routes across New York City.

Building on this momentum, he ran for mayor on a progressive platform. He promised everyday New Yorkers universal child care, a freeze on rent-stabilized units, and a program for city-owned grocery stores to combat high food prices. He defeated political heavyweight and former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the 2025 Democratic primary. He later won the general election with over 50% of the vote. 

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Upon taking office in 2026, he became New York City’s first Muslim mayor, its first Asian-American mayor, and its youngest mayor in more than a century. Since stepping into the mayor’s office, he has already begun executing his promises, including the launch of “The Little Apple” initiative to provide free child care for city workers, according to The Hechinger Report. 

His unapologetic approach seems to be resonating. According to a September 2026 Suffolk University poll, 61% of New York voters say the young mayor is doing a better job than they expected, proving that his empathy-driven approach translates into real results. What do you think about Zohran Mamdani, Ultimates? Do you agree with his programs, or is there another side to his campaign?

Writer: Belva Putri Paramitha

Editor: Celine Valerie, Kezia Laurencia, Reza Farwan

Photo: detik.com

Sources: CNN, The Hechinger Report, Suffolk University poll, Indypendent