As Governor Kathy Hochul vetoes legislation that would weaken New York City mayoral powers, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani finds an unexpected ally in his quest to shape the city’s charter. According to a report by Gothamist, this month saw Hochul strike down a measure that would have allowed the City Council to put forward changes to the city’s charter without the mayor’s intervention. This veto comes just in time for Mamdani, whose ambitious agenda could have faced hurdles had the bill passed.
At the heart of this political tug-of-war is a proposal from City Council members to add measures on the ballot that could strip the mayor’s office of certain powers, in response to corruption scandals that plagued the administration of outgoing Mayor Eric Adams. Notably, one such measure would have enabled voters to remove a mayor found guilty of misconduct. “There should be equal time and equal opportunity for ballot proposals from a co-governing branch of the city,” Speaker Adrienne Adams told Gothamist, expressing disapproval of Hochul’s decision.
Meanwhile, the mayor-elect is butting heads with Hochul on another issue, namely the treatment of the city’s homeless. Mamdani has publicly opposed the sweeping of homeless encampments as a solution to the city’s pervasive issue of homelessness. “If you’re not connecting people to housing…if you’re not connecting them to housing they need, then you cannot deem anything you’re doing to be a success,” Mamdani stated, as reported by ABC7 New York…