Gubernatorial candidate and former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a Democrat, expressed his strong support on Monday for New York City’s likely future mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who wants to defund the police, create government-run grocery stores, and spend millions in taxpayer funds on transgender procedures.
[RELATED: Socialist Zohran Mamdani Wins NYC Democrat Mayoral Primary, Besting Andrew Cuomo…]
“I don’t know if you heard about what happened in New York City yesterday, but I could kiss everybody down there. The big-money elite, the people with all the power, didn’t win the mayor’s race,” said Jackson.
Mamdani, a current NYC Assemblyman, Ugandan-born Muslim, former rapper, graduate of Maine’s Bowdoin College, member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and radical leftist on every imaginable issue, claimed victory in the city’s mayoral Democratic primary on Tuesday, defeating runner-up Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo served as New York’s Democratic governor from 2011-2021, oversaw the state’s disastrous response to COVID-19, and eventually resigned in disgrace following a sexual harassment scandal.
Mamdani will now face off in the general election against Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and incumbent Eric Adams, who is running as an independent. Adams recently wriggled out of an indictment for corruption and enters the race with serious baggage.
Mamdani has expressed support for defunding the police, increasing sanctuary-city policies, creating city-run grocery stores, freezing rent, hiking taxes, taxpayer-funded abortions and childcare, a $30 minimum wage, and the decriminalization of prostitution.
Mamdani has also announced a plan to spend $65 million in taxpayer funds on transgender surgeries and drugs for minors and adults.
Some critics have raised concerns about Mamdani’s authenticity after video evidence showed that he radically alters his accent depending on the group he is speaking to at any given time.
Jackson seemed to support Mamdani’s radical platform, and expressed a desire to make Maine like NYC under his leadership.
“It doesn’t matter what background you come from, what you do for a living, you should have as much voice in your government as everybody else. New York City just proved that, and lets do the same damn thing right here in Maine. Let’s make sure we have a government that fights for everyday working class people,” he said.
Though Jackson did not explicitly address any of Mamdani’s policies, his overwhelming joy (strangely leading him to express a desire to kiss everyone in NYC) over his victory suggests support for those policies in addition to support for the voters’ right to choose him.
Having faced scandals over misrepresenting his primary residence on a mortgage application form, submitted questionable mileage reimbursement claims to the state, and having recently lost a selectman’s election in his hometown of Allagash, Jackson too is no stranger to controversy — though for different reasons than Mamdani.
While he rails against “big money” and special interests in Wednesday’s video, Jackson’s son is a lobbyist in one of Augusta’s highest grossing firms.
Jackson’s statement that everyone should have the same voice in government, regardless of background, also suggests potential support for illegal immigrants voting.
