Apathy Sings in the Big Apple, Will it Echo in the Magic City?

There have been many comments lately about the primary election victory by Mr. Mandani in the New York City mayoral race. Mr. Mandani is a self-proclaimed socialist and a Muslim. Roughly thirteen percent of New York City’s population is Jewish. Roughly nine percent of its population is Muslim. Roughly thirty-eight percent of New York City’s population are immigrants. The income disparity and the cost of living in New York City are starkly different than much of the rest of America. One could make a rhetorical case that although New York City is in the same country as North Dakota, it sometimes seems like it is on a different planet.

Mr. Mandani’s main opponents were both deeply flawed. Former Governor Cuomo has faced eleven sexual harassment allegations. One or two might be explainable, but eleven—not so much. Apparently, the voters were not interested in having a Pepe Le Pew imitator for mayor. Current Mayor Adams had been indicted for corruption and then muscled by Trump, who is not a fan favorite in the Big Apple. Mandani thusly had been blessed with deeply flawed opponents.

From up here in the cheap seats, the voters of New York City were not given a choice of dreamboats for mayor (although Cuomo may have incorrectly thought himself to be one). The result? Even with the additional count of ranked choice voting, Mandani only received eleven and a half percent of the votes of eligible New York City voters. The biggest question appears to be whether the actual winner was apathy, disgust, or both.

Next month there will be a special election in Minot wherein our next mayor will be selected. Comparing Minot to New York City would be laughable—except for one possible sliver of similarity. If there is a small voter turnout, will apathy prevail? What would it say about Minot if we had an election and nobody cared? What if that becomes a trend? How “way out” could future candidates become? Has it already happened in some legislative districts? Could it happen again—only worse? Apathy is like a cancer cell. There are some potential cures, but neglect is not one of them.