Congrats Zohran Too Bad Being The Mayor of New York Sucks

My deepest sympathies go out to Zohran Mamdani because he is NYC’s next mayor.

Zohran Mamdani making my friend Hari happier than I ever have. Photo courtesy of W. Kamau Bell

I have rarely seen my friend Hari smile like that. Not at the discovery of a new scathing political punchline for his stand-up comedy act. Not daydreaming about Matt Sharp rejoining Weezer. Not when he made Hank Azaria quit doing Apu’s voice on The Simpsons. I’m not gonna deny that I was a teensy bit jealous. WHY DON’T I MAKE HIM SMILE LIKE THAT ANYMORE??? I was standing in the backyard of a Brooklyn brownstone last summer, surrounded by New York City’s most annoying citizens; the optimistic, activist-ic lefties. You know ‘em. You hate ‘em. You love ‘em. I am one of ‘em. Maybe you are too.

They were gathered together to support a man who they optimistically and activist-ically believed could take on a task that has broken many men; being the mayor of New York City. Some of the mayors of New York City (and it is a group exclusively of men) probably had the best of intentions. Some of the mayors absolutely did not. There was also a whole group of mayors who started out with good intentions but then got corrupted by the bright lights of the big city… and also the waves and waves of cash. The current man to have the job, Eric Adams, is definitely in the group of men who wanted the title but little else… well except for the cash. He definitely wants the cash.

None of that sordid history phased this coterie of folks on this beautiful, surprisingly temperate, early summer evening in Brooklyn. Their plan was to annoy the shit out of the corrupt folks in their way by doing a simple, yet foolhardy, thing. They were determined to believe in electoral politics. This gathering even had an annoying name. Instead of being called a “fundraiser,” this was a “friendraiser”... although I’m sure they wouldn’t have turned down an offer of funds from a new friend.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure whether I should go to the gathering. Despite my interest in politics, I’m not generally that interested in politicians. There are a small handful that I am happy to be around–Barbara Lee, Lateefah Simon, Summer Lee, future returning Congresswoman Cory Bush, to name a few–but more often than not politicians are too wedded to talking points for my tastes. And then there’s the fear of disappointment. You invest your heart, soul, time, donations, and your vote, only for them to go off and let you down. (or betray their values, or sell out to the highest bidder).

Hari really wanted to go to this thing, because he actually knew the guy we were going to see. In fact he had known this guy since the guy was a prospective college student. Hari had done a favor for the guys’ mom. She wanted Hari to talk to her son about Hari’s alma mater, Bowdoin College. The guy ended up going to Bowdoin. So this was not just any old, regular political event for Hari. And I really wanted to hang out with Hari, so I went. When we arrived at the event there was pizza. This was already working out!

There must have been around 100 people in that intimate (but enormous by Brooklyn standards) backyard. It was packed with MAGA’s least favorite types of people: the dyed blue hairs, the clearly queer, the Blacks, the Browns (so many browns), the AAPI’s, the sensitive and thoughtful whites, the Christians, the Muslims, at least one Hindu (Hari), and–with apologies to Debra Messing and Michael Rappaport–some Jewish people (!!!). These huddled masses were also spread across generations. There were Gen Z’s to Boomers, and sandwiched in the middle was the Greatest Generation: Generation X!

As we were raising friends, the man of the moment showed up: Zohran Mamdani. He was standing on the second floor balcony of the brownstone. There was a brief introduction. Zohran spoke for a few minutes. He thanked everyone and gave a speech that was charged up, but not over the top. It was the MTV Unplugged of political speeches. The feeling in the air that night was that Zohran might actually be able to do this. Ina. recent poll, Zohran had caught up on Andrew “Is Anything I Do Likeable?” Cuomo. That night Zohran didn’t seem nervous or cautious. He seemed quietly assured that New York City was soon to have free buses, affordable housing, and some grocery stores where the price of the groceries was good vibes.

And then at the end of his speech he dropped the hammer on us.

“Before I end, I do have to give a special thank you to my dear friend Hari Kondabolu, who is here in our crowd. If you can give him a round of applause, because not only is he a dear friend, but he is also an example of someone who has believed in this campaign, even before the beginning of this campaign.” — NYC Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani

DAMN!

No. I’m. Not. Jealous. Even. One. Bit. At no point did I think Zohran was talking about me when he gestured in our direction. I mean, I was standing right next to Hari, so he could have easily been gesturing towards me, but he wasn’t. Let it go. Honestly, I’m not sure why you would even bring that up.

Hari got visibly emotional and then pulled it back. I think he was shocked to be singled out but didn’t want to draw too much attention to himself. I was sincerely happy for him that he was getting his due. Hari is one of my favorite people on the planet.

After Zohran finished his remarks, people surrounded him. They needed some selfies and some facetime. Zohran was patient with everyone, but eventually he made his way to Hari. That’s when I took these pictures. I don’t consider myself a photographer of any note, but these are empirically great photos.

Zohran Mamdani and Hari Kondabolu in simpler times. Photo courtesy of W. Kamau Bell

And of course, this past Tuesday, Zohran won the whole dang election for New York Mayor. New York is about to have its first Millennial, first South Asian, first Ugandan, FIRST RESIDENT OF QUEENS to be the mayor of New York City. (Also he will be the first Muslim Mayor. Is that a big deal? I haven’t been paying close attention to the press.) All we need to do now is (1) put Curtis Sliwa back in his groundhog hole where he’ll stay until the next mayoral election and (2) wait for Andrew Cuomo and his brother Chris to announce their new podcast where they claim to be aggressively centrist. I think they should call it Cuomostly Done.

Zohran Kwame Mamdani is the next Mayor of New York!

*heavy sigh*

Let us pray.

I remember the exact moment when I realized that being the mayor of New York City was a job that totally suuuuuuucks.

I lived in New York for a couple years when I had my first big showbiz job hosting the political late night talk show Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell. The show lasted just over a year, from late summer of 2012 to late fall of 2013, which means I was in town during the city’s mayoral race. The eventual winner was Bill de Blasio. (Bill also had the best eight word memoir: White Man Married To Black Lesbian.) On Totally Biased we covered the race and we occasionally had fun referencing de Blasio’s mixed race/Black son Dante, because Dante had one of the most awesome Afros that I had ever seen.

Dante de Blasio, age 17, in 2015. Credit Richard Perry/The New York Times

In case de Blasio’s biography didn’t tip you off, he identified himself as a progressive Democrat. The race came at the end of Michael Bloomberg’s controversial third mayoral term, so the field was crowded with contenders. Candidates were foaming at the Super PAC to get the job of New York City mayor. De Blasio cleared the field in large part by foaming at the mouth the least. The race also happened during the narrow window when being an interracial couple polled well… or at least not so bad as other times. Barack Obama was still president. So de Blasio won, and then the “fun” began.

On July 7, 2014, Eric Garner was choked to death by a New York City police officer for the “crime” of standing on a New York City street. The police accused him of selling loosies (individual cigarettes). He denied it. Either way, Eric Garner, a husband and father, did not deserve to be killed. This happened during the first Black Lives Matter movement. We added Eric Garner’s name to Trayvon Martin, Philando Castille, Alton Sterling, and other Black folks who have suffered abuse and unjustifiable death at the hands of the police. Three weeks later Michael Brown was killed by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Derren Wilson. That kicked The Black Lives Matter movement into high gear.

Again, Bill de Blasio is the father of a mixed race/Black son, so understandably he had some thoughts about a New York police officer (who is technically his employee) killing Eric Garner, a Black man. De Blasio shared some of his thoughts with the media.

“We’ve literally had to train [Dante], like families have all over this city for decades, in how to take special care with any encounters he has with police officers.” – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, 2014

This enraged New York City police officers, so much so that their union, the Police Benevolent Association, spoke out against, THEIR BOSS, Mayor de Blasio. The police stayed enraged at their boss throughout the year. In December of 2014, two police officers were assassinated by Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley. It shook the whole city.

The assassinations quickly became a national story. The two officers who were killed had a shared funeral that was aired nationwide. Vice President Joe Biden even showed up. So many people attended the funeral that there were large screens placed outside of the church. When Mayor de Blasio gave the eulogy, the police in attendance turned their back on him, en masse. Thousands of police officers turned their backs on THEIR BOSS… AT A FUNERAL. Remember, de Blasio never called out an individual officer for wrongdoing. He didn’t pull an Obama and say the police “acted stupidly”. He simply said he was worried about his son.

It was stunning, and it wasn’t even the first time this had happened to de Blasio. When he visited the officers in the hospital before they passed away, the dozens of police who were there turned their backs on him as he walked down a tight hospital corridor. I will never forget how small de Blasio looked as he walked down the hallway of blue-backs. Which is saying a lot because de Blasio is six feet five inches tall. They turned their back on their boss multiple times. Can you get away with that at your job? Sure makes it seem like no matter who’s in the mayor’s office, the cops are in charge.

It goes without saying that these events colored his time in office. (I’m thinking a deep shade of Navy blue.) De Blasio did do some good things while he was there, like launching universal pre-k. Weirdly, he also seems to have been responsible for the death of a groundhog. (Not Curtis Sliwa) And while de Blasio did serve two terms, he didn’t change the rules to get a third like his predecessor Bloomberg did. His relationship with the police never seemed to improve. In August of 2020, the Police Benevolent Association endorsed Donald Trump for president. Even the president of the PBA knew this was an extremely unorthodox move. At the time he said, “I cannot remember when we’ve ever endorsed for the office of President of the United States until now. That’s how important this is.” Unsurprisingly, this was not an endorsement without controversy, even among other New York Police… especially the Black ones.

At the swearing in ceremony of Eric Adams, minutes after midnight on January 1st, 2022, de Blasio looked like he couldn’t wait to hand over the keys to the mayor’s office. Soon it will be Zohran Mamdani’s turn. At his swearing in ceremony, I imagine that Eric Adams may look like Bill de Blasio did at the 2022 ceremony. I picture Adams wearing sunglasses at night, flanked by suitcases, clutching a one-way ticket to Turkey and a completed application for Turkish citizenship.

On election night, you could see that Zohran understood the assignment. Gone was the forever smiling and ubiquitously congenial tone. Zohran gave a speech that was far more fiery and challenging of Donald Trump than most of us imagined he would. That night Zohran wasn’t a New Yorker. He was a resident of Queens.

“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him. And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop Trump; it’s how we stop the next one. So, Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.” — NYC Mayor-Elect & Queens resident Zohran Mamdani

For those out there who haven’t read all the required texts before class (like me), when Zohran said, “Turn the volume up.” he is referencing a song of the same name by fellow New Yorker and Hip Hop legend KRS ONE. DAMN part two! Add to his lists of first, first New York City mayor to quote Eugene Debs and KRS ONE in one speech. Editor’s Note: I sent Kamau the clip below. That’s where he learned the KRS ONE thing.

@mytherapistlifeI’m about to catch the Holy Ghost 😂😂😂 Total #GenX reference iykyk ✊🏾

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

Zohran continued.

“So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: to get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us. When we enter City Hall in 58 days, expectations will be high. We will meet them. A great New Yorker once said that while you campaign in poetry, you govern in prose.” — NYC Mayor-Elect & ex-rapper Zohran Mamdani

I was listening to The Majority Report when host Sam Seder revealed that the “great New Yorker” who uttered that quote was Mario Cuomo… Andrew Cuomo’s father. DAMN part three!

So congratulations to Zohran Mamdani, the next mayor of New York City. I sincerely hope you are properly prepared to take on the challenges of this job. And if your employees turn their back on you, I hope you go all Queens on them. I wish you well. You better not disappoint my friend, Hari. And I’m truly sorry for you how much that job is gonna suuuuuuuuuuuuck.

Don’t Just Look at Hari Go See Him on his Stand-up Tour

NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 7-8, 2025 TICKETS

WASHINGTON DC - NOVEMBER 9, 2025 TICKETS

BROOKLYN, NY - NOVEMBER 12-13, 2025 TICKETS 11/12 & TICKETS 11/13

CHICAGO, IL (SPECIAL TAPING) NOVEMBER 15, 2025 TICKETS

I Just Added a Stand-up Date in SF on November 22

So that means there are only TWO more stand-up comedy dates for me beofre the new year.
November 22, Saturday, San Francisco AFTERNOON SHOW at 3pm!
December 6, Saturday Rochester, NY at 7:30pm

Who’s With Me? Merch

Check out the Who’s With Me? merch selection. Another great way to support the work here AND YOU GET MERCH! Perfect holiday gifts!

Mississippi got in on the Blue Wave too!

There was a lot of press about how well the Domocrats did on Election Day this past Tuesday, but don’t sleep on Mississippi! Maybe the most surprising good news is that Mississippians ended the Republican Supermajority in Mississippi. While Mississippi is still a state run by (some of the worst) Republicans, the breaking of the Supermajority is going to make is much harder on the Republicans to get their evil deeds done. Mississippi Dems channeled the spirit of their activist Godmother Fannie Lou Hamer and rebuked the Republican Party.

“Breaking the supermajority means restoring checks and balances—and ensuring that every Mississippian’s voice counts in their state government.” — Mississippi Democratic Party Vice Chair Jodie Brown

Stay Tuned for a Special Treat Next Week

Seeing all the awful news about the Trump administration cutting SNAP benefits for 42 million people made me so upset that I had to do something. So I got a couple members of the band back together and we went out a did some old school filming. Below is just a few photos from the shoot. The video will be out next week. Don’t get too excited it will be like three minutes long. But several will follow from this shoot. And this isn’t for CNN or any other network. This is for Substack. This is for YOU! Your support has made this idea a reality. This is hopefully just the beginning of more stuff like this. There will be a premiere screening for my paid subscribers before it goes out to the world. So if that’s a thing you are interested in then sign up to be a paid subscriber.

This was filmed at the Alameda County Community Food Bank. Until then find and support your local food bank here at Feeding America.