I am listening to the Jacobin Dig podcast and they actually have a really interesting interview. Basically these 2 people are representing themselves as having been part of the inner cadre who planned this whole mayor thing from the start. Like obviously with other people, but this isn't an interview with 2 rando members of DSA.
(It would be very bold to be taking credit for this if they were full of shit. But I would like if anyone with direct knowledge can confirm.)
Link: How Zohran Won w/ NYC DSA 01 Jul 2025 mp3
They have no transcript and only this short summary:
Featuring NYC DSA co-chairs Gustavo Gordillo and Grace Mausser on how Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic mayoral primary. NYC DSA spent years building an electoral juggernaut that has now made history and offers a model for the left everywhere across the United States. A behind-the-scenes look at how NYC DSA and the Zohran campaign did it!
But they are talking about questions I asked in an earlier thread which I'll just kind of summarize below so you will know if you are interested in the same things. It is 2hrs long at 1x speed so this isn't comprehensive.
- To what extent was he "sent" by DSA?
- How responsible was DSA for these 40k canvassers?
- Is there any mechanism of accountability to DSA in place here?
- Does he plan to consult them when he's in power?
- Will they have any influence?
- If Mamdani is elected mayor and he does something totally contrary to the DSA, what do they do about it?
- Is DSA recruiting from the 40k canvassers?
- Are new people showing up to their meetings?
Not yet discussed:
- What's it like to be in the NY DSA right now?
- how many of new recruits are spies sent by Bill Ackman?
In this interview they mentioned that he wouldn't be able to act as mayor without their support. Then much later at the end they said they were going to continue building the 40k volunteers because it will be needed to enforce his policies. Which was not elaborated upon but quite intriguing.
His fight isn't going to be over once he's mayor. The capitalists won't just roll over. He could be planning on using some of those volunteers in his team instead of consultanting firms. Outisde, they'll probably keep pushing public opinion for his policies. Its hard to tell exactly what he'll need from them now.
None of this is an actual hard guarantee that he won't sell out and go turncoat if that's what you're wondering about. His antizionism is really the guarantee of that. Either he drops that or NYC bourgeoisie drops Zionism before he turncoats. Otherwise it would be the most dramatic case of political suicide.