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Welcome back to this special edition of Power and Politics. I'm Nadia Galindo. We're gonna continue the conversation with Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani in Puerto Rico, as senior political reporter Tara Rosenblum asked him about how he plans to work with top leaders in the region. And what his win means for the Democratic Party. What should your historic victory signal to the National Democratic Party as we head into the crucial 2026 midterms? I think that it's time to bring working people back to the focus of our party, and I think we have to make it clear that protecting democracy, it's not enough in and of itself as a value or as an ideal. We also have to protect democracy's ability to deliver. For the material needs of working people, and I can speak more specifically about New Yorkers, but I know that Americans across the country are facing that crisis, and they're facing it because you have a Republican administration that campaigned on lowering the cost of living that is now fighting to make it even harder for Americans to afford their groceries. I mean, close to 2 million New Yorkers are on the precipice of not having SNAP benefits, which would make it even harder for them to put food on their family's table. I was getting emails from sources telling. That there would be some breaking news coming. Elise Stefanik likely announcing a run for governor and sure enough, as we were walking into this interview, the Associated Press was reporting that Elise Stefanik, the congresswoman from upstate, would be announcing a run for governor potentially this Friday. Haven't heard your thoughts yet on the congresswoman. What do you make of her, her policies, and can Governor Hochle count on your support as she heads into a reelection battle? I haven't yet been asked by. for her endorsement in that race. I have appreciated the working relationship that we have and the shared focus on delivering for New Yorkers and especially her focus on universal childcare. I will tell you that Congresswoman Stefanik to me is indistinguishable from President Trump in that they are both working together to make it harder for New Yorkers to afford their groceries, harder for New Yorkers to afford their healthcare. We're talking about someone who's in lockstep with an administration that is so desperate to throw 4 million Americans off their healthcare. Would rather shut down the government, and I do not see any future in which New Yorkers would like to see that here in New York City while they're trying to fight it there in Washington DC. A big win this week not only for you but for Democrats all along the eastern seaboard, including our neighboring state New Jersey. Have you met Mikey Sherrill? What's your relationship with her? We've spoken a few times on the phone. I called to congratulate her on Tuesday evening after her polls had closed while ours were still open. And what I appreciated about her both in those conversations as well as in what I saw of her campaign was someone that is focused on fighting for the people that she's looking to represent. And there was a moment in one of her rallies where she talked about exactly what she was going to do to take on the affordability crisis, and saying that the era of strongly worded letters have to come to an end. The time is now to actually deliver on utility. to deliver on the things that are keeping people up at night, not just on what we end up seeing so often on cable news. And be it congestion pricing, immigration, there's so many issues that overlap and impact New Jersey. Do you anticipate having a strong working relationship with her? I look forward to having a strong working relationship with the governor as well as with anyone whose work intersects with the lives of New Yorkers. I think for far too long politics has become a place where people assume whether it's the relationship between Albany and City Hall, that it can only be one of tension, only one of conflict, when in fact so often we're actually looking to serve the same set of constituents. You have just made history as the first Muslim that will lead this city, so I have to just ask you on a personal note, what that milestone means to you. And what message you hope it sends to young people across the tri-state. I think the most meaningful moments are the ones where I have with young Muslim New Yorkers who come up to me and I can see in their eyes the sense that they could be anything in the city that they call home. And for far too long, whether we're speaking of Muslim New Yorkers or other New Yorkers, there's been attempts to narrow the definition of who gets to belong in our city. And it is time to have a definition that applies to everyone who calls it home, where the debate we're having is not who belongs, but rather how do we ensure dignity for all who already call it home. Finally, I have to ask you, homelessness is surging across New York State, especially. In your area in the city and especially among young people, what is the first concrete step and how will you gauge success? This is a crisis we're seeing in New York City last measure 154,000 students in our public school system were homeless, and that is. A shame. It is something that should scandalize all of us, and to me there are a clear set of next steps. One of them is looking at a pilot program called Every Child and Family Is Known, which was started within the public school system and a few schools in the Bronx, was shown to be incredibly effective by pairing homeless public school students with public school employees, having them meet once a day in person, having those employees meet once a week with the family of that student in person. It increased attendance records. It increased a sense of belonging, and even the mental. of those students and that's something I believe we have to expand to hundreds more schools across New York City. That was Tara Rosenblum's sit down interview with Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani. As we mentioned, Mamdani is in Puerto Rico this weekend attending the annual Somos conference. It's a pilgrimage many officials make after election day, the conference highlighting the needs of the Latino community. Our cameras were rolling when mom Donny addressed the crowd at that event shortly after arriving. It is such a pleasure to be here as your mayor-elect of New York City. And it's a pleasure to be here because no matter where we are, the message is the same. Here we say Puerto Rico nosevee. In New York City we said Nueva no. It's the same struggle which is for working people. What we are here to do is get to the work of delivering for the people of New York City. For too long we have talked about it. We have dreamt about it, and now is the time to actually work for. There are too many New Yorkers for whom New York City is something to be dreamt about, to be remembered as opposed to a place to be who are willing to do two things all at once fight an authoritarian administration. And deliver on an affordability crisis. We must protect those neighbors in New York City who are fearful of leaving their apartments because of the presence of ICE terrorizing New Yorkers across the five boroughs and protect neighbors who are fearful of receiving a rent hike in their mail. It's time to get to work. It's an honor to be someone who will be doing that work for you. There is still much more to come. Stay with us right here on 12.

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Welcome back. Let's continue our conversation with Mayor-elect Zoan Mamdani, who spoke about his initial reaction to winning the election and why the Somos conference in Puerto Rico is one of his first stops. Has it sunk in yet? You're the mayor-elect of New York City. It is starting to, and it's incredibly exciting just thinking about. All of the work that we can actually deliver on to make this a city that's affordable for New Yorkers and you know this is your first big trip as mayor elect um why now? Why Somos why here in Puerto Rico? You know it is a joy to be here in Puerto Rico. You cannot tell the story of New York City without the story of Puerto Ricans and. To return back to Somos after having been here last year, it's an opportunity to meet with city council members to meet with organized labor, to meet with partners whether they be the governor, the attorney general who will be key at delivering on this agenda for New Yorkers. Now during the campaign cycle Mamdani was able to turn social media engagement into votes like we've never seen before. I spoke to a content creator to see how this strategy helped energize young voters. In the crowd at a Pink Panthers concert, Coca is cute. Coco wants to play. Coco wants to live in a city she can afford, a neighborhood bodega and shaking hands with taxi drivers on the night shift. Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani and his team bringing eyeballs to his campaign to win the election. The takeaway here is now you need to make better TikTok. TikTok the real takeaway from Mamdani. is that you need to stand for something. Carlos Casadilla Palacio is one of many Gen Z content creators that have helped elevate Mamdani's message on social media. Elon Musk has just gotten in the New York City race and endorsed Andrew Cuomo. The 28-year-old is also the president of the Brooklyn Young Democrats. He quit his job working for a local state Democratic senator to create content full time, a move illustrating how his generation. is ready for a new form of politics. We're seeing a politics right now that people are hungry for, which is actually being genuine and actually treating people not as subjects but actually as partners, he says. Mamdani, presenting himself online in an authentic way, helped move the needle, and the success of those social media videos can be seen when you speak to everyday New Yorkers. I saw the one in Spanish. I have a lot of expectations on him, and I want to see what's going to happen. I thought he looked amazing in those videos. I thought he did a great job. I thought he's a great public speaker. And while Mamdani is now headed for Gracie Mansion, Carlos says the work has just begun. We're ready to dream and we're ready to fight for change, change that will be documented every step of the way. And that's all for this special edition of Power and Politics. Thanks for watching.

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On this special edition of Power & Politics, News 12 Senior Political Reporter Tara Rosenblum sits with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in San Juan, Puerto Rico, fresh of his Election Day win. Mamdani discusses his journey to his historic win on Election night. Mamdani also discusses how he plans on delivering on his campaign promises, like free bus service and universal child care, and how he is preparing to clash with President Donald Trump.

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