Filmmaker Mira Nair's son wins seat in New York assembly

November 04, 2020 20:51

Indian-Ugandan Zohran Kwame Mamdani, son of filmmaker Mira Nair, has won the election for New York State Assembly, one of two candidates of Indian-origin elected to NY state office.

"It's official: we won. I'm going to Albany to fight to tax the rich, heal the sick, house the poor & build a socialist New York. But I can't do it alone. To win socialism, we'll need a mass movement of the multiracial working class as well. So let's build one," Mamdani tweeted.

A report in patch.com said Mamdani, 29, Democratic nominee for the 36th Assembly District, ran unopposed in the general election after defeating incumbent Assembly Member Aravella Simotas in the Democratic primary election in June.

He had got 8,410 votes or 51.2 per cent of the ballots cast in the June primary while Simotas had got 48.6 per cent of the votes. Mamdani got automatic win once the polls closed Tuesday night in New York City.

He is a first-time candidate for elected office and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America or DSA.

In a tweet, Nair said "And Zohran is in! Change is gonna come."

On his website, Mamdani said he is 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."

Mamdani said this election isn't about a single candidate but about a movement.

"As a democratic socialist, I know that we'll never win the rights we all deserve -- rights to healthcare, housing, education, nutrition, childcare, and public power -- without a grassroots movement of the working class rising up to demand them. Another world is possible, but only if we fight for it together."

Mamdani was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, and grew up in New York City after his family moved here when he was seven years old.

Indian-American lawyer Jenifer Rajkumar also got elected to New York State Assembly, becoming the first South Asian woman elected to NY state office.

Rajkumar, Democratic Nominee for NY State Assembly, is a Stanford-educated lawyer and immigrant-rights advocate. -- PTI

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