If you\u2019re a New York City parent of a 2022 or 2023 baby, you probably can\u2019t look up (or down at your phone) without seeing Mayor Mamdani\u2019s face over the last six weeks.<\/p>\n
He was everywhere. Doing adorable press conferences with preschoolers, building snowmen with kids after the blizzard, partnering with influencers, making videos in imperfect but well-intentioned Spanish<\/a> with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and advertising across LinkNYC kiosks<\/a>, ferries, and in the backs of cars across the city.<\/p>\n Days before the Feb. 27 deadline, reports of robo-calls directly from Mamdani swept through the parent group chats as people were reminded to sign up for 3-K or pre-K before it was too late.<\/p>\n This marketing blitz \u2014 combined with aggressive on-the-ground outreach and community engagement \u2014 wasn\u2019t just for show. It was instrumental to the mayor\u2019s goal of achieving universal child care, and further proof that in 2026, politicians being good communicators is a necessity.<\/p>\n Consider how in 2025, 1 in 5 seats in pre-K and 3-K went unfilled, in part because then-Mayor Eric Adams simply didn\u2019t care that much to try.<\/p>\n At the same, thousands of students didn\u2019t get an offer to their preferred 3-K program as supply and demand are not yet aligned given how new the program is.<\/p>\n Fewer people enrolled in 3-K and pre-K means there\u2019s less intel about where the city needs to stand up new programs. Meanwhile, child care centers close due to insufficient enrollment and the argument to keep or increase funding in future years gets even weaker, which means even fewer spots available. We get stuck in a doom loop.<\/p>\n I\u2019m reflecting on this as I think back to after Mamdani won the primary last year. There was rampant, annoying debate within the Democratic Party about whether he only won because of his videos and communication style or his policy positions. (The answer is both).<\/p>\n What that debate missed is that in the fragmented attention economy of 2026, the skills he needed to win the election are the same skills he needed to be a successful mayor.<\/p>\n While politicians in the 1990s might have been able to put out a TV ad or do an interview on the local five o\u2019clock news and call it a day, that\u2019s barely the tip of the iceberg nowadays. A good politician today needs to be able to reach the person who hasn\u2019t paid for cable in years, and or only listens to sports podcasts or consumes parenting content.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just about reaching them: An effective communicator needs to be able to hook those voters in a way that\u2019s entertaining but also disciplined.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easier said than done, and admittedly, Mamdani is extraordinary at it. But he\u2019s not alone.<\/p>\n