(Editor's Note: The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement of any political party or candidate on the part of Newsmax.)
"I saw the lights go out on Broadway," wrote and sang Billy Joel in 1976.
This November is the anointment of Zohran Mamdani to Mayor of New York City and, to his detractors, the beginning of the end of that great city.
Why is Mamdani so threatening?
His background includes: Born in Uganda, arrived in America as a seven-year-old, Moslem, New York State assemblyman, member of the Democratic Party, Member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
According to Mamdani's campaign website, (Zohranfornyc.com), his major policy initiatives include: Adding $450 million for debt relief, $100 million for subways, free buses with priority bus lanes, frozen rents, increasing hate violence prevention programs by 800%, free childcare, city-owned groceries and property seizures from the "worst" landlords.
Add to this an 11 and ½% corporate tax rate and a 2% millionaires additional income tax.
This column is not an argument for or against Mamdani's proposals.
It's a political piece.
So, the first question is: Will Mamdani win? Almost certainly.
The betting markets have him at 90%. The reliable polls have him at around plus-18.
Is this what New Yorkers want?
It's as if you consider the competition.
For a great number of New Yorkers this is an ABC election, anyone but Cuomo. Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York, is the strongest challenger.
Andrew Cuomo is one of the most despised politicians in the history of the Empire State.
When he sent COVID-19-infected seniors back to the nursing homes to die and infect others, his reputation was shattered.
His appeal is so weak that Staten Island, conservative and Italian, is breaking strongly for Mamdani. The Jewish voters of Manhattan's upper west side are also abandoning Cuomo for Mamdani.
The next competitor is, or was, the sitting Mayor of New York, Eric Adams.
Adams recently dropped out of the race rather than suffer through the embarrassment of a single digit election vote. Adams, a former police chief, ran and won on a strong anti-crime platform.
He won and immediately abandoned his own promises, staffed his administration with long-time cronies of dubious character, and, most importantly, told the voters he was on his way to the presidency.
Almost everybody abandoned him.
Curtis Sliwa is the candidate that could help New York.
Mr. Sliwa spent most of his adult life making the streets of New York safer.
His organization, the Guardian Angels, voluntarily patrolled New York City at night to help reduce crime. The New York City electorate has made it clear that Sliwa is totally unacceptable.
But why?
He's a Republican; no more, no less. Don't feel bad for Curtis. He'll be fine.
Definitely feel badly for New York voters.
Why?
Because this writer knows what's coming.
If you're going to succeed as a blue city or state elected official, you better have a Democrat in the White House.
Joe Biden was perfect. Biden passed his trillion-dollar bill and funded all the large blue cities and states.
We didn't get our electric vehicle charging stations or California's trains to nowhere, but we did spend the money, on bailouts.
New York, California, and Illinois can keep the lights on and pick-up the trash.
That was then.
Now, Mayor Mamdani will propose gazillion-dollar programs with President Trump holding the purse strings.
It's a no-brainer and a non-starter.
What's Mayor Mamdani going to do?
Or better yet where is Mayor Mamdani going to find his golden goose that can lay golden eggs?
The answer?
Mayor Mamdani is going to take a walk on Wall Street; the place which (literally and figuratively) provides the economic foundation for New York City, New York State, New Jersey and Connecticut.
At the least.
Mamdani will make a money-grab for a stock transfer tax or some equivalent golden egg that catches his fancy.
And here's what he will learn: Last month, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the formation of the Texas Stock Exchange, TXSE, which bills itself as the "first and only fully integrated, national securities exchange built and headquartered in Texas." (Dallas).
The launch date is the first quarter of 2026.
Mamdani’s inauguration is the first week of 2026.
And, as an added attraction, the already existing Miami Stock Exchange (MIAX) is a major trading platform for financial options both nationally and internationally.
A Mamdani attack on Wall Street will launch one of the greatest financial wars in American history, with the fiscal solvency of the northeast at stake.
Hit it, Billy:
"They say a handful still survive
To tell the world about
The way the lights went out
And keep the memory alive."
Sid Dinerstein is a former chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. Read Sid Dinerstein's Reports — More Here.
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