New York must put a stop to the increasingly dominant and erratic City Council

Assemblyman from Queens, Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, has entered the New York City mayoral race with the support of the group behind Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s election to Congress.

The Democratic Socialists of America have declared, “Now is the time for us to get to work to replace our corrupt, autocratic mayor with a proven socialist.”

They fail to mention Mamdani’s anti-Israel stance.

With Mayor Adams facing legal troubles, Mamdani is one of several far-left candidates announcing plans to run for the position.

However, even if a moderate candidate defeats these leftists, changing the leadership in City Hall will not be sufficient to reverse the city’s deterioration.

The issue lies not just in the mayor’s office but also within the City Council.

Adams faced challenges from an ideologically extreme council from the beginning – even before the corruption charges – that treated him poorly.

New Yorkers demanding a city government with sensible priorities like safe subways, quality education, and order in the streets must acknowledge their own role in the current state of affairs.

In the previous year’s local elections where all 51 council seats were up for grabs, the voter turnout was incredibly low, with only 7.2% in the primaries and 12.8% in the general election.

The number of people who voted was barely higher than those who had moved out of the city in the three years prior.

Now, everyone is paying the price for this lack of civic engagement.

The City Council is actively undermining public safety and quality of life, even advocating for the “right” to sleep on the streets, disregarding the impact on neighborhoods.

The council rejected Adams’ attempts to control spending and prioritize public safety, ultimately approving a budget that increases spending by 18.3% compared to the previous mayor’s budget without allocating funds to increase NYPD manpower.

They also passed the How Many Stops Act, adding bureaucratic paperwork for police interactions and restricting NYPD’s social media freedoms.

Furthermore, the council is exploring significant changes that would erode mayoral accountability and potentially insert anti-policing candidates into key agency roles.

There is hope for change through electing a common-sense City Council that prioritizes the needs of all New Yorkers.

It is crucial for any mayoral candidate promising to save the city from decline to also advocate for City Council allies who can help restore order to the city.

Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and co-founder of the Committee to Save Our City.