Zohran Mamdani to be sworn in as New York City mayor by Sen. Bernie Sanders and AG Letitia James
New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, will be sworn in in January, by state. Attorney General Letitia James and Mamdani’s fellow democratic socialist, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Sanders will oversee the mayor-elect’s inauguration ceremony at a New Year’s Eve block party, while Attorney General Letitia James will formally swear in Mamdani at midnight, when his term officially begins.
In a press release announcing the events, the transition notes that Sanders’ “unapologetically progressive values inspired Zohran to run for office in the first place.”
“It is an honor to be sworn in by two leaders I have admired for years: Attorney General Tish James and Senator Bernie Sanders. Attorney General James has championed powerful interests in his defense of New Yorkers and has embodied the principle of equal justice under the law,” Mamdani said in a statement.
WNYC was the first to report that Sanders would swear in Mamdani.
“Senator Bernie Sanders laid the foundation for our movement with his unwavering commitment to the dignity of workers and his belief in government that serves the many, not just the few. I know of no better leader to help usher in a new era for New York City.”
Mamdani, who defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in last month’s election, is set to become mayor of the nation’s largest city on Jan. 1 (and its first Muslim mayor). Mamdani campaigned with Sanders on the trail by locally electrifying the same progressive electorate that the Vermont senator had activated during his two presidential bids.
James was one of Mamdani’s most important backers in a state where many major Democrats were trying to keep their distance from the progressive candidate. While the Democratic primary was conducted through ranked choice, which allowed voters to rank up to five candidates (in order of preference), James announced that she was placing Mamdani third on her ballot. In October, James spoke at a rally with Mamdani shortly after she was charged with mortgage fraud (a federal judge later dismissed that charge).
“He is a leader who is fighting for a better future for this city, and he, like me, knows what it is like to be attacked, to be insulted, threatened, harassed,” James said at the time.
