The New Boss in New York Politics

Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York City’s mayoral primary earlier this summer was a sign that there’s a new boss in town: the Working Families Party.

Founded in 1998, the WFP began exerting influence after a 2006 court decision that paved the way for political parties to spend money in other parties’ primaries. Through funding and organizing, the party “wasn’t just endorsing anymore—it was using its muscle to pick the winners of Democratic primaries,” Joseph Burns writes.

The WFP’s legal advantages make it especially effective, Burns points out. Because it’s a recognized political party, unlike super PACs, it can work directly with candidates; and it can accept contributions up to $138,600 per donor—much larger than what individual candidates can accept. “These funds can be spent in support of WFP-backed candidates in primary elections,” Burns writes, “giving the party an outsize presence in low-turnout races, where just a few thousand votes can swing the outcome.”

Read more about the WFP and its rising influence over New York politics.

Last week, President Trump announced that he was considering easing federal restrictions on marijuana. This would be a deadly mistake, Kevin Sabet argues. He points out that “marijuana use is associated with the onset of mental illness in both children and adults,” and it can do serious damage to the cardiovascular system. A recent analysis found that marijuana users are 51 percent more likely to have had a heart attack than nonusers.

Read more about the drug’s risks.

At a Manhattan Institute event on Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams proposed a new measure—the Compassionate Interventions Act—that would allow doctors and judges in New York City to order involuntary treatment for people addicted to drugs or alcohol who pose a danger to themselves or others. “We must help those struggling finally get treatment, whether they recognize the need for it or not,” Adams said. 

“Adams’s plan is a welcome step,” writes Judge Glock. He notes that 36 states and the District of Columbia have similar laws in place, and that other compulsory treatment programs have produced positive results. 

To succeed in New York, Adams’s proposal would have to be followed up with more substantial investments in treatment. “Paired with more funding for rehabilitation, the measure could significantly reduce public drug use,” he writes. Read more about it here.

Among philosophers, Daniel Kodsi and John Maier observe, the tendency has been not to challenge gender-identity ideology. Many academics support it, of course, but those who oppose it fail to speak out, leading to mantras like “trans women are women” taking hold at universities. “We hope that more of our colleagues find the courage to use their expertise to help advance the truth about sex and gender identity,” Kodsi and Maier write, “not suppress or obfuscate it.”

“Flying from New York into the heart of a Mediterranean culture is like getting a spiritual rubdown after five rounds of hard meritocratic sparring,” Jonathan Clarke writes. “It also throws a curious reflected light on the way we live in the United States, a little closer to the tip of modernity’s spear.”

Read more from his recent travels in Southern Greece.

“Recent graduates probably find it hard to shill for universities that have them over the barrel with back-breaking debts for degrees that do not pencil revenue in the job market.”

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