I’m pretty disillusioned with the state of US politics; but last night gave me a great deal of hope. Specifically Zohran Mamdani’s victory in NYC. It underscores something I’ve been feeling (and trying to practice) for the past year; the key to political success lies in local government. As individuals we have almost no control over who the president is; we have a bit more influence on senators and governors but at a local level within our cities individuals can exert a great deal of control. Of course NYC is a bit of an anomaly because of it’s size but in any city or town anyone can get involved by calling their city counselors, campaigning for what they believe in. It’s a sad fact but local politics have such low levels of engagement that it only takes a few phone calls for a city counselor to prioritize an issue. If we all focused less on national politics and put our efforts into making our home towns more equatable, safer, more affordable, et al. our impacts would be multiplied.
I firmly believe in the grassroots idea that making our hometowns better will create an upwards momentum at a state and, eventually, national level. People need to feel safe, healthy, and happy in their hometowns and if they do they won’t need to vote for strongmen.