As the Iowa City City Council elections ramp up Tuesday, another election is taking place that should capture people’s attention: the New York City mayoral election.
The current front-runner in the race is the 34-year-old New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. In June, he won the Democratic primary, beating former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
His popularity extends beyond New York City, and non-New Yorkers who are unfamiliar with him should take note of his policies and goals for the city, as they may find themselves wanting the same for their hometown.
Mamdani’s popularity is largely due to two factors. The first is his economic policies, aiming to make New York City more affordable for residents. The second: his and his team’s savvy social media campaigning, which has amassed over 4.7 million followers on Instagram and 1.7 million followers on TikTok.
So why should non-New York residents be engaged in the Big Apple’s politics? There are a few reasons.
To start, Mamdani’s ideas and goals for New York City differ from the average politician, and that’s a good thing.
University of Iowa fourth-year student Cielo Herrera has lived in New York for most of her life and kept up with the election over the past few months. She is the president of both Walk It Out and Bridge Iowa.
“Paying attention to politics across the nation is a part of your civic duty,” Herrera said.
She recognizes people can’t be aware of every candidate or policy change, but being aware of what is happening in the country, especially in a place as culturally significant as New York City, is important.
“This will be a very pivotal moment for politics in this country because [Mamdani’s] bringing new ideas,” Herrera said.
Herrera is curious if other cities across the country will adopt policies similar to Mamdani’s. She knows the implementation and success of his policies in New York City will be the deciding factor of whether local governments around the country will shift their policymaking.
Mamdani’s policies are built around affordability, which is not only a priority for New Yorkers but for people across the country.
According to a Pew Research Center study, 67 percent of Americans place health care affordability on top of their financial concerns, 63 percent said inflation, and 53 percent said the number of Americans living in poverty.
While issues such as health care and inflation are out of Mamdani’s direct control, there is an understanding that affordability is important to New Yorkers.
Housing is one specific area Mamdani is looking to make affordable by proposing a rent freeze for stabilized units. A rent freeze would be a temporary period, usually lasting a couple of years, where landlords would not be able to raise the rent for their tenants.
Mamdani’s housing policies should especially catch the attention of Iowa City residents. For the last few years, housing affordability has been a major concern in the Iowa City area.
According to the 2023 Johnson County Affordable Housing Report, the U.S. Census Bureau released data in 2019 showing that approximately 41 percent of Iowa City renters are severely cost-burdened.
In 2025, the Iowa City City Council made the decision to repurpose Roosevelt Elementary School into an affordable housing complex called Roosevelt Ridge.
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors has also been making efforts in the housing sector by proposing a plan that would allow the county to loan money to a local nonprofit. The nonprofit would then use the loaned money to acquire real estate to be used as affordable housing.
While Iowa City and New York City have nearly 1,000 miles between them, the two cities, and others throughout the country, can agree life has become unaffordable. The policies of past politicians haven’t achieved enough to boost the quality of life for average citizens.
As mentioned, Mamdani has amassed a large following across his social media platforms, and this is something politicians in Iowa should note.
Mamdani’s social media followers aren’t drawn to him because he follows trends, but instead because of the authenticity and energy in his videos.
“His campaign is actually quite personable,” Herrera said. “It makes you want to know more about him.”
Herrera feels these aspects of Mamdani’s campaign videos cater to the average New Yorker and make him a more relatable figure, which is something other politicians struggle with.
Politicians should learn from how Mamdani campaigned, especially if they want to show that they are for the people.
As shown by the over 2,600 No Kings protests that occurred across all 50 states in October, Americans are upset with the direction this country is heading, and they want change.
To see those changes, new ideas in policy and campaigning need to come to the forefront, and maybe the blueprint for those will come from New York City.