Filmmaker Mira Nair’s son Zohran Mamdani made history on November 4 by becoming the first South Asian to win the New York Assembly seat. Mamdani, who is a Democratic Socialist and a rapper, ran unopposed to represent New York’s 36th Assembly District in Astoria. The DSA-backed candidate had defeated incumbent Aravella Simotas by 346 votes in the Democratic primary.
Confirming the news of his victory, he tweeted: “It’s official, we won….”
Mamdani was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, but spent a good part of his life in New York City. Mira Nair’s son now works as a housing counsellor and helps immigrants facing eviction threats retain their homes. He decided to join politics in 2019 after a member of the local unit of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) suggested it.
Mamdani had earlier said: “I am running for State Assembly because it’s time to guarantee housing to all New Yorkers as a right, regardless of ability to pay. It’s time to desegregate our schools, fully eliminate cash bail, ban solitary confinement, fund and fix the MTA, end workplace discrimination, and fight for social, racial, economic, and environmental justice for the many, not the few.”
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