Former NYC councilmember blasts Mamdani, says race for mayor 'is not even close to over'

24 Aug 2025 By foxnews

The former Republican leader of the New York City Council explained how Zohran Mamdani could lose the race for mayor, and that the frontrunner candidate "can't do much of what he's promising" even if elected.

Joe Borelli, who served more than nine years as a councilman, sat down with Fox News Digital to discuss the standings of the race as sitting mayor Eric Adams, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa all linger in the field against Mamdani and his openly socialist agenda.

"The race is not even close to over," Borelli told Fox. "We'll see the first set of polls after Labor Day, sometime around September 10th, September 11th, and that's when you'll really see the race take shape.

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"That's when I do think there'll be some pressure for perhaps one or two of the candidates to step aside and support the others," Borelli added.

Cuomo, who lost in the Democratic primary upset defeat to Mamdani in June, was reportedly "counting on" President Trump to push GOP voters in New York City to support the former governor.

Cuomo's campaign denied the rumors to Fox News Digital earlier this week.

Borelli noted that President Donald Trump convincing Sliwa and Adams to drop out of the race could be beneficial for Cuomo, but that an official endorsement may do more harm than good.

"Trump could help Cuomo by helping the other two non-Mamdani candidates get out of the race, and that would be impactful," Borelli told Fox. "Unfortunately, though, even as a Trump supporter, I'd have to admit that the president is not particularly popular amongst the voting block of New Yorkers."

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As for Mamdani's agenda, the socialist has made lofty campaign promises, saying he wants New York City to provide free childcare, free bus transportation, city-owned grocery stores, and freeze rent prices.

Borelli's near-decade spent on the city council leads him to believe that many of these promises simply aren't possible.

"Mamdani can't do much of what he's promising unilaterally," Borelli told Fox. "The MTA is not running in the black right now, it's running significantly in the red.

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"[The MTA] always needs more money, so it would be unclear how he could sell the entire MTA board on a program to make buses free when that would cost upwards of one, two, maybe three billion dollars."

As for Mamdani's plan to open a city-run grocery store in each of the five boroughs of NYC, sitting New York governor Kathy Hochul pushed back at the idea at an event in the Hamptons over the weekend.

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"I favor free enterprise," Hochul, who is not running for mayor, told the crowd while referencing Mamdani's vision for grocery stores in the city.

As the remaining candidates continue to battle while Mamdani leads the pack, the stage is set for an eventful November mayoral election.

Fox News Digital reached out to Zohran Mamdani's campaign but did not receive a response.