JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon reportedly had a call last week with New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who he previously said was “more of a Marxist than a socialist.”
Dimon’s call with Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, was a friendly conversation, Bloomberg News reported, citing people briefed on the call.
The conversation followed Dimon’s criticism of Mamdani’s ideological preferences for government control and occurred as the state assemblyman surged out to a lead in the New York City mayoral race despite similar criticisms and apprehensions from the city’s business community.
Mamdani has held those meetings with the assistance of Kathryn Wylde, the CEO of Partnership for New York City, who has helped make connections with business leaders whose companies are members of the coalition. Wylde has also helped arrange similar connections and meetings for other candidates in the mayoral race, according to the report.
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Other Mamdani supporters have stepped in to help facilitate meetings, including New York State Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, according to the report.
Dimon said last month at an event in Ireland that Mamdani is “more of a Marxist than a socialist” and called out Democrats for saying “‘well, he’s pointing out some real problems, affordable housing and grocery prices.'” Dimon added that Mamdani is pushing “the same ideological mush that means nothing in the real world.”
Mamdani’s candidacy has proven controversial with members of the business community, with the democratic socialist’s campaign platform including a number of controversial policy proposals that could prove costly for the city’s finances.
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The 33-year-old state assemblyman has called for the city’s minimum wage to be increased to $30 per hour by 2030, as well as raising New York City’s corporate tax rate to match New Jersey’s 11.5% corporate tax rate.
He also pledged to create city-owned grocery stores, which would operate on a rent-free basis without having property tax liabilities while buying and selling at “wholsale prices,” to create a “public option” in the grocery store market.
Mamdani has campaigned on building 200,000 new units of “permanently affordable, union-built, rent-stabilized homes” over the next decade. He has also proposed immediately freezing rents for tenants in rent-stabilized units.
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The Mamdani campaign features a plan to “implement free childcare for every New Yorker aged 6 weeks to 5 years.”
He has also criticized delivery app platforms, with his campaign website stating that “deliveristas – 80,000 Black, brown and immigrant workers – are exploited by app companies who demand they complete deliveries at a dangerous pace.”
Despite the controversy surrounding Mamdani’s policy preferences, the Democratic nominee maintains a sizable lead over his main rivals in the November mayoral election.
Mamdani holds leads over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and incumbent New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who are running as independent candidates, as well as Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
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