Mayor Wilson's clothes were purchased at Goodwill. One thousand Seattleites crowded into City Hall, hundreds of whom had never thought of it as their home. Along with me, Katie invited three speakers who presented a mosaic of hope: a Somali American graduate student, a formerly homeless man, and an elder who reminded us over and over again to be courageous and not content.
Across ideologically diverse communities, 2025 campaigns against automated license plate reader (ALPR) surveillance kept winning. From Austin, Texas to Cambridge, Massachusetts to Eugene, Oregon, successful campaigns combined three practical elements: a motivated political champion on city council, organized grassroots pressure from affected communities, and technical assistance at critical decision moments. The 2025 Formula for Refusal Institutional Authority: Council members leveraging "procurement power"-local democracy's most underutilized tool-to say no.
"New York City, long positioned at the forefront of housing innovation, is falling behind," the author writes. "The most effective innovations happen when residents are treated as partners with authority and vision." Across the U.S. and around the world, everyday people-tenants, workers, organizers-are transforming the future of housing in their cities and catalyzing positive change. New York City, long positioned at the forefront of housing innovation, is falling behind.
Mamdani's run was barely a blip then, but Califano sensed the swell of something shifting. He asked Mamdani's communications director if he could follow the campaign behind the scenes (and on his own dime) for a long-term documentary project. They said yes, and over the next nine months, Califano embedded himself within Zohran's team, photographing everything from union rallies to neighborhood canvassers to Ramadan iftars among aunties. He burned through more than 100 rolls of film in the process.
The name is Mamdani: M.A.M.D.A.N.I. When Zohran Mamdani corrected Andrew Cuomo for mispronouncing his name at the New York City mayoral debate, it was immediately turned into a viral TikTok sound: remixed with Gwen Stefani's " Hollaback Girl." The sound has been featured in user-generated content surpassing 100 million views on TikTok. Remarkably, Mamdani was polling at 1% a year ago, and few New Yorkers recognized him. By the end of the campaign, Zohan Mamdani had mobilized a grassroots movement of 100,000 volunteers.
For the night, Hadidi transformed the restaurant's back room, typically reserved for parties of 20 or more, into a theater-style viewing room. It became so packed that Huda regulars Hiba Awad and her friends Joanna and Mo ran home for a laptop and monitor, which they set up at the bar next to the martini glasses. "That way, we can live stream the results for the rest of the restaurant to see, too," Awad explained.
Brewster's No Kings rally Saturday drew more than 4,000 people, bringing almost twice as many protesters to GOP Representative Mike Lawler's district than its June event in Mount Kisco did. It was the largest rally in Brewster's history. Nationally, rally co-organizer Indivisible announced that these events drew 7 million people, also twice the June number. I'd say Lawler should be a bit nervous.
Hundreds of East Bay residents descended on Oakland Tech on Sunday, Oct. 5, and by 9:30 a.m., a line stretched halfway down the block . People in sneakers and Dr. Martens and flip flops, in keffiyehs and hoodies and bike helmets and cat t-shirts, were waiting to check in for Bay Get Ready, a day-long session on how to "get trained and organized to fight back."
