Quote:Tomorrow, I’ll speak at the largest rally yet against New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani—a proud socialist whose radical agenda threatens our country’s future. Brandon Straka, founder of the #WalkAway Campaign, hosts the event. It brings together former Democrats, Independents, and Republicans who refuse to be silenced by the far left.

I’m attending not just as a nationally syndicated columnist, but as a student and the child of Soviet immigrants who lived through the very ideology Mamdani wants to impose on New York.

Mamdani has openly declared his mission: not just to raise class consciousness, but to “win socialism.” That means seizing private property, expanding government control over the economy, and punishing success.

I’ve heard stories my whole life—about empty grocery stores, ration cards, crumbling apartments, and the state’s grip on every part of daily life. That’s the system my parents fled. It’s the same system Mamdani wants to bring back.

When you seize the means of production, productivity falls, quality drops, and shelves go empty. My grandparents waited hours in breadlines. They hoarded sugar because it was a luxury. They lived in a society where achievement was punished and mediocrity rewarded.

If Mamdani wins in the largest city in the United States, the consequences will reach far beyond New York—they will impact every American.

Mamdani has opposed nearly every policy designed to help low-income students succeed. He has fought against school vouchers, resisted charter school expansion, and attacked top schools like Stuyvesant and Bronx Science—not because these schools fail, but because they don’t meet his racial quotas.

In the name of “equity,” Mamdani is willing to dismantle a system that works, even if it condemns another generation to failing schools and wasted potential.

In parts of New York City, some public schools have a 0% pass rate on standardized tests. Instead of funding academic recovery, tutoring, or textbooks, Mamdani pushed a $8 million “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” teacher hiring initiative. That money could have gone toward proven solutions. But Mamdani does not prioritize results. He prioritizes ideology.

Today, 42% of NYC public school teachers are Black, while only 22% of city residents are Black. Still, Mamdani insists the system is not equitable enough.

But the bigger picture is even worse. Mamdani’s policies make it harder for small businesses to grow, families to succeed, and New York to stay competitive. His ideology punishes ambition, treating wealth as a crime and success as injustice. You do not lift people up by tearing others down.

That’s why I’m speaking out. My family lived through food shortages and unlivable housing. My parents came here to escape the oppression and injustice that communism brought to the USSR.

Now, I have to ask myself: will I have to flee my own city to escape the same threat?

If you care about opportunity, education, and the future of our nation, join me. Let’s send a clear message: Americans will not sit quietly while radicals hijack our schools, economy, and values. We believe in freedom—not forced redistribution. We believe in achievement—not ideological conformity.

Stand with us against the socialism, communism, and radical extremism Mamdani tries to force on the greatest city in America. If he wins, New York risks becoming the next Moscow under Soviet rule—a city stripped of freedom, opportunity, and hope, replaced by fear and failed ideology.