Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani said on Tuesday that he has a “desire for partnership” as he heads into high-stakes meetings with business leaders and Democratic Party bigwigs who have yet to endorse his candidacy this week.
Mamdani is set to meet with roughly 100 CEOs behind closed doors, scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, according to a source close to Mamdani’s campaign and the Partnership for New York City, a business group that organized the meetings. He is then scheduled to convene with leaders in the city’s tech industry late Wednesday afternoon as well, the source said.
Mamdani, a Queens Assembly member, and the business leaders agreed to both meetings, hoping to allay their fears that his democratic socialist branding and left-wing policies would drive wealthy New Yorkers out of the city. He seeks to get business leaders and establishment Democrats behind his general election effort as independent opponents, including incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, attempt to block his path to City Hall.
Specifically, business leaders have voiced concerns about Mamdani’s proposal to fund his priorities by raising New York’s corporate tax rate to 11.5% and increasing taxes on those earning over $1 million annually.
During an unrelated Tuesday news conference, where Mamdani was endorsed by District Council 37 — the city’s largest municipal workers union, he repeated that he will “say the same things” in the meetings that “I’ve said outside about my fiscal policies, about my commitments.”
“I will also underline that the core of my politics is not just sincerity, but also a desire for partnership,” Mamdani said. “I go into that room knowing that there will be disagreements, and also knowing that the foundation of it is a belief in the possibility of this city. And it will take a new kind of politics that unlocks that possibility.”
Who’s meeting with Mamdani, and who isn’t?
Partnership for New York City President Kathryn Wylde has reportedly expressed an openness to working with Mamdani and worked to organize the meetings.
The organization has 350 members, including banks, Fortune 500 companies, and law firms. Its board includes corporate honchos like Dr. Albert Bourla — the chairman and CEO of the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. — and Rob Speyer, the president and CEO of the real estate firm Tishman Speyer.
Mamdani said that while he believes he can get on the same page with many business leaders, “there are some who cannot be convinced.”
Among those figures, he listed billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who backed Cuomo in the primary and has shifted his support to Adams in the general election, and Bo Dietl, a former cop turned political operative.
“They are not those who have seemingly any interest, and that’s fine,” Mamdani said, referring to those he feels cannot be convinced to back him. “There’s room for them in our politics as well.”
Set to talk with Jeffries, too
The Queens lawmaker also previewed how he will approach a planned confab with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in the city later this week. Jeffries has publicly defended Mamdani from attacks by Republican President Donald Trump and has complemented his ability to excite voters in the primary, but has stopped short of endorsing the Democratic nominee.
Jeffries has voiced concerns about Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which many in the Jewish community take as an incitement to violence against them. Mamdani has said the phrase is “not language that I use,” but has sought to contextualize its Arabic meaning as a call for liberation.
Mamdani said he plans to approach his meeting with Jeffries in a similar manner to his conversations with business leaders, noting that while they may disagree on certain subject areas, they share the same core values as Democrats.
“When we describe our party’s big tent, it also means many people who call themselves Democrats, who belong to the Democratic Party, have different views about different questions, none of which are the question of whether or not they’re Democrats,” he said. “At the core of being a member of the Democratic Party is a belief in working people, in the idea that hard work should be enough to stay in the city that you call your home.”
U.S. Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul have also so far declined to endorse Mamdani, while coming to his defense against Trump’s broadsides. But Mamdani has been picking up support from many others in the Democratic establishment, including pols like U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan/Bronx) and unions such as 32BJ SEIU.
At the same Tuesday press conference with DC 37, the union’s president, Henry Garrido, emphasized that Mamdani is providing the Democratic Party with a fresh message it sorely needs.
“We have been hungry for a leader that has a message that speaks to working people in a way that resonates and is willing to replicate nationally,” Garrido said. “And he has delivered it.”
