On the evening of September 9th, a public debate about the New York City mayoral candidates was held in the Bayside community of Queens. The event was organized by former City Council candidate and landlord rights advocate, Ms. Tang Yingying. Independent candidate Jim Walden, who had just withdrawn from the mayoral race, along with dozens of residents, most of whom were from the Chinese community, participated in the discussion.
Tang Yingying, the organizer, stated that as the mayoral election approached, polling data indicated a concerning situation for many Chinese residents: if multiple candidates ran against the Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, there was a high probability that Mamdani would win. Therefore, she hoped that through this gathering, the community could unite and encourage residents to surpass party lines in the November election, and elect a truly capable leader who is not a socialist candidate.
The atmosphere at the debate was passionate, with active participation and open dialogue. Walden shared openly about his decision to withdraw from the race after a year of campaigning, expressing his concern that his supporters might dilute the opposition against the socialist camp.
“This was a tough decision,” Walden told Dajiyuan, “but I carefully considered who would win, and I didn’t want to be the one to spoil someone else’s campaign. I won’t seek votes from Mamdani’s supporters, but I will draw votes away from Mayor Cuomo, Sliva, and Adams.”
However, despite Walden’s withdrawal announcement, the New York City Board of Elections rejected his request to withdraw from the race and insisted on keeping his name on the mayoral election ballot. In response, Walden has taken legal action to sue the Board of Elections in an effort to have his name removed from the ballot before the official vote, to prevent misleading voters and impacting the election outcome due to vote splitting.
The residents present that evening unanimously agreed that everyone must come together to protect New York City. Organizer Tang Yingying urged everyone to unite and vote for the candidate most likely to defeat Mamdani.
“We cannot waste our votes; we must concentrate on supporting the candidate with the highest poll numbers, whether it’s Cuomo, Adams, or Sliva,” Tang Yingying stated. “Because we cannot let a socialist candidate win. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. He says he will make buses free, a lot of free stuff, which sounds good, but where does the money come from? It’s all our hard-earned taxpayer money.”