Doubts about Mamdani echo John Lindsay's emergence in '65

A young candidate who some suggested was both inexperienced and far too progressive, elected to lead New York City, turns out to be an adept and innovative manager.

Sound familiar?

Here in 2025, some critics argue that the Democratic nominee Assemb. Zohran Mamdani, 33, is unprepared to be mayor, based on limited experience, and that his socialist beliefs — he’s a democratic socialist — make him far too progressive to lead the city.

We have a ways to go before November, let alone seeing how Mamdani might perform as mayor. But I can’t help but think back to 1965 and the election of John V. Lindsay, 43, who faced similar critiques as a progressive Republican running with the support of the Liberal Party. I had the distinct honor of working for Lindsay in the mayor’s office and experienced his tenure firsthand.

When elected, Lindsay wanted to implement a city version of President John F. Kennedy’s Peace Corps, of which he was a huge supporter — and did it. In his second term, I headed the Urban Corps, which leveraged the federal work-study program to pay 80% of the wages of its interns, matched with only 20% in city funds, for internships with city agencies arranged by the mayor’s office. During Lindsay’s administration, the city had over 25,000 paid internships with students from about 100 colleges and universities. Those opportunities built interns’ skills and boosted their career prospects, helped the city effectively deliver services, and provided a ready-made talent recruitment program.

It was so successful that it spread across the country, with close to 100 cities replicating Lindsay’s Urban Corps’ success. While a progressive initiative, it was managed very efficiently, leveraging previously unused federal funds. Lindsay’s progressiveness was often melded with operational effectiveness despite his limited prior managerial experience. Under his leadership, construction projects like the Lincoln Center and Battery Park City were launched, and the city created one agency focused on the environment, another on services for the elderly, and another on growing the film industry.

Another notable management win was Lindsay’s creation of the 911 system, which spread to other cities as well. His support of racial diversity, reinforced by walks through neighborhoods like Harlem with key elected officials of color, helped to keep New York safe when cities like Los Angeles and Chicago suffered violent demonstrations.

Lindsay’s two terms were far from perfect. The city struggled through transit and education strikes along with tough financial difficulties, leading to the fiscal crisis when he left office. But looking back, it’s clear the positives far outweigh the negatives — and perhaps the most significant positive was Lindsay’s ability to recruit youthful top talent, many of whom continued their government service at different levels long after he departed City Hall.

Lindsay’s tenure provides lessons for all mayoral candidates. His progressive programs were effectively implemented. Lack of experience at the top can be addressed by recruiting standout talent and allowing them to manage. Just like Lindsay molded the Peace Corps into an effective model for New York City, the next mayor can learn from successful programs elsewhere and localize them. And he sought to bring people together, not drive them apart. That lesson is very important.

Lindsay was a big-city progressive Republican mayor, which sounds inconceivable now. He became a Democrat during his second term, in 1971. But brands are less important than your leadership skills and ability to forge a majority to govern. Can you get the job done?

Zohran Mamdani, take note.

This guest essay reflects the views of Stanley Litow, a Columbia University professor, who worked for former NYC Mayor John V. Lindsay.