Thanking family from ‘Kampala to Delhi’, Zohran Mamdani vows to govern ‘expansively, audaciously’ in inaugural speech as NYC Mayor
Zohran Mamdani became Mayor of New York City on Thursday (January 1, 2026), taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics with
Zohran Mamdani became Mayor of New York City on Thursday (January 1, 2026), taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics with a promise to transform government on behalf of the city’s striving, struggling working class. In his inaugural speech, the Indian-origin politician vowed to govern “expansively and audaciously” and deliver an agenda of affordability for New Yorkers as he thanked his family from “Kampala to Delhi” after being sworn-in as the 112th Mayor of New York City. Zohran Mamdani-backed candidates excel in congressional primaries Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in at a decommissioned subway station below City Hall just after midnight, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath as the city’s first Muslim Mayor. After working part of the night in his new office, Mr. Mamdani then returned to City Hall in a taxi cab around midday Thursday (January 1) for a grander public inauguration where U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the Mayor’s political heroes, administered the oath for a second time. In his nearly 25 minute speech to New Yorkers after taking the oath of office, Mr. Mamdani said that “beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.” He vowed that under his administration, City Hall will “deliver an agenda of safety, affordability, and abundance, where government looks and lives like the people it represents, never flinches in the fight against corporate greed, and refuses to cower before challenges that others have deemed too complicated.” Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7.
Mamdani became a naturalized U.S. citizen only recently in 2018. “To those who insist that the era of big government is over, hear me when I say this: No longer will City Hall hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives,” he said. Throngs turned out in the frigid cold for an inauguration viewing party just south of City Hall on a stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes,” famous for its ticker-tape parades. Taxing the rich Throughout the ceremony, speakers hit on the theme that carried Mr. Mamdani to victory in the election: Devotion to using government power to lift up the millions of people who struggle with the city’s high cost of living. Sanders insisted that doing so — partly by raising taxes on the rich — wouldn’t be radical. “In the richest country in the history of the world, making sure that people can live in affordable housing is not radical,” he told the crowd. “It is the right and decent thing to do.” In opening remarks, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Mr. Mamdani would be a Mayor dedicated to the working class. “It is the people of New York who have chosen historic, ambitious leadership in response to untenable and unprecedented times. New York, we have chosen courage over fear. We have chosen prosperity for the many over spoils for the few,” she said. Mamdani was accompanied on the stage by his wife, Rama Duwaji. The previous Mayor, Eric Adams, was in attendance, sitting near another former mayor, Bill de Blasio. Actor Mandy Patinkin, who recently hosted Mr. Mamdani to celebrate Hannukah, sang “Over the Rainbow” with children from an elementary school chorus.
The BriefWire