Record number of democratic socialist mayors take office across US, out to prove affordability vision

As progressive candidates scored wins across the United States last week, a historic number of socialists swept into power — in Congress, in state legislatures and at the helm of American cities. Members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are now set to take up those offices.

DSA members Nithya Raman and Janeese Lewis George were elected to lead the second largest US city, Los Angeles, and the capital, Washington DC, respectively. Two other young DSA members, David Morales and Yousef Rabhi, were elected mayors of Providence, Rhode Island, and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

They will join a handful of socialist mayors in smaller cities, including Burlington, Vermont, and Irvine, California — as well as Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist mayor of New York, the largest city in the US.

Mamdani, who grew up politically within New York City's DSA chapter, was considered a long-shot candidate before his meteoric rise. He is now one of the most popular politicians in the country, and his election is widely credited with inspiring historic numbers of democratic socialists surging to office across the country and up and down the ballot.

Come January, the number of DSA members in Congress will have quadrupled to eight, and more than 100 DSA-endorsed candidates will sit in local, state and national office.

But DSA mayors face a unique opportunity. They hold authority over the prosaic elements of governance, from garbage pickup to snow days, and from that executive office they can prove to the public that the group's ideals of affordability and inclusivity can improve the lives of working people — the central tenet of the DSA's vision.

'It's the executive office, so the stakes are actually higher there,' said Eric Blanc, an assistant professor of labor studies at Rutgers University and a DSA member.

'If politics cannot deliver on the block where you live, why would you trust it to deliver anywhere?' Mamdani told a gathering of mayors from around the world on the sidelines of the UN general assembly earlier this fall. 'If you are making a New Yorker's life a little smoother, so too you are making their journey to believe in government's ability to deliver for them.' According to the New York Times, which covered the event, Mamdani made the remarks to explain his fixation with potholes — his office says he has repaired more than 200,000 since taking office.

Similar to Mamdani, the incoming DSA mayors have run campaigns focused on affordability and practical improvement to people's lives. Raman, an urban planner, has promised more housing and public transit improvements. Lewis George has campaigned on universal childcare, public housing and better protections for tenants. Morales has pitched affordable housing and called for corporations to contribute a larger share toward public education and city services. Rabhi has pledged to fight data centers and keep utilities affordable.

While his critics have generally focused on debates with little to do with municipal government, Mamdani has been focused on delivering on campaign promises such as a rent freeze, universal childcare and taxing the rich.

'Zohran already demonstrated proof of concept, contrary to all of the predictions of imminent collapse' of the city, Blanc said. 'He has already demonstrated what democratic socialist governance can look like.' He added that if others can follow this model — taking big fights against the rich and powerful and proving to people that their lives can be made better — that will help avoid some of the real difficulties of governing.

Katie Wilson, the mayor of Seattle and a self-identified democratic socialist though not a DSA member, agreed. She called a mayor's job 'the best in the world' and noted that the office requires a mix of big vision, ambitions and values on one hand, and on the other the real nitty-gritty of keeping the lights on. It is really important, she said, that socialists and progressives coming into office get those details right and do the basics well.

As a growing number of progressives have called on Democrats to 'deliver' following last week's landslide wins, mayors will be the first to have to show results. Wilson said they should deliver on what is within their reach and maintain close working relationships with the grassroots organizers who helped them get elected.

'What people are affirming in voting for progressives and socialists in this moment is that we believe in the power of government to improve people's lives,' she said. Even when the ability to deliver falls beyond their municipal authority, a mayor should show people 'that you're fighting for them', she added. 'You're not going to build socialism in one city ultimately, but how do you embody those values, and that vision, and take real, tangible steps toward socialist policies, in a way that improves the daily lives of the residents of your city?'