00:00Thank you, my friends.
00:22The sun may have set over our city this evening,
00:27but as Eugene Debs once said,
00:31I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.
00:42For as long as we can remember,
00:45the working people of New York have been told
00:48by the wealthy and the well-connected
00:50that power does not belong in their hands.
00:53Fingers bruised from lifting boxes on the warehouse floor,
01:00palms calloused from delivery bike handlebars,
01:04knuckles scarred with kitchen burns.
01:07These are not hands that have been allowed to hold power.
01:11And yet over the last 12 months,
01:15you have dared to reach for something greater.
01:17Tonight, against all odds,
01:25we have grasped it.
01:29The future is in our hands.
01:35My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty.
01:39I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life.
02:01But let tonight be the final time I utter his name.
02:05As we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many
02:12and answers only to the few.
02:19New York,
02:21tonight you have delivered
02:23a mandate for change.
02:27A mandate for a new kind of politics.
02:34A mandate for a city we can afford.
02:39And a mandate for a government
02:41that delivers exactly that.
02:46On January 1st,
02:48I will be sworn in
02:50as the mayor of New York City.
02:52And that is because of you.
03:07So before I say anything else,
03:10I must say this.
03:15Thank you to the next generation of New Yorkers
03:18who refused to accept
03:21that the promise of a better future
03:23was a relic of the past.
03:27You showed that when politics speaks to you
03:30without condescension,
03:32we can usher in
03:33a new era of leadership.
03:37We will fight for you
03:39because we are you.
03:42Or as we say on Steinway,
03:44Anaminkum Wailaikum.
03:53Thank you to those
03:54so often forgotten
03:56by the politics of our city
03:58who made this movement their own.
04:01I speak of
04:02Yemeni bodega owners
04:04and Mexican abuelas.
04:08Senegalese taxi drivers
04:10and Uzbek nurses.
04:11Trinidadian line cooks
04:16and Ethiopian aunties.
04:21Yes, aunties.
04:26To every New Yorker
04:28in Kensington
04:29and Midwood
04:30and Hunts Point,
04:32know this.
04:36This city
04:37is your city
04:38and this democracy
04:39is yours too.
04:41This campaign
04:46is about people
04:47like Wesley,
04:49an 1199 organizer
04:51I met outside
04:52of Elmhurst Hospital
04:53on Thursday night.
04:55A New Yorker
04:56who lives elsewhere,
04:58who commutes
04:59two hours
05:00each way
05:01from Pennsylvania
05:02because rent
05:03is too expensive
05:04in this city.
05:06It's about people
05:08like the woman
05:08I met on the BX33
05:10years ago
05:11who said to me,
05:12I used to love New York
05:14but now it's just
05:16where I live.
05:19And it's about people
05:20like Richard,
05:22the taxi driver
05:23I went on a 15-day
05:25hunger strike with
05:26outside of City Hall.
05:27who still has to drive
05:33his cab
05:33seven days a week.
05:36My brother,
05:37we are in City Hall
05:38now.
05:39This victory
05:47is for all of them
05:49and it's for all
05:51of you.
05:53The more than
05:54100,000 volunteers
05:56who built this campaign
05:59into an unstoppable force.
06:01Because of you
06:03we will make
06:04this city
06:05one that
06:05working people
06:06can love
06:07and live in again.
06:12With every
06:13door knocked,
06:14every petition
06:15signature earned,
06:17and every
06:17hard-earned
06:18conversation,
06:20you eroded
06:20the cynicism
06:21that has come
06:22to define
06:23our politics.
06:28Now I know
06:29that I have asked
06:31for much from you
06:32over this last year.
06:35Time and again
06:37you have answered
06:38my calls.
06:40But I have
06:41one final request.
06:44New York City,
06:47breathe this
06:48moment in.
06:52We have held
06:53our breath
06:53for longer
06:54than we know.
06:56We have held it
06:56in anticipation
06:57of defeat.
06:58held it
06:59because the air
07:00has been knocked
07:01out of our lungs
07:02too many times
07:03to count.
07:04Held it
07:04because we cannot
07:05afford to exhale.
07:07Thanks to all
07:09of those
07:09who sacrificed
07:10so much,
07:11we are breathing
07:12in the air
07:13of a city
07:14that has been
07:15reborn.
07:20To my campaign
07:21team,
07:22who believed
07:23when no one
07:24else did,
07:24and who took
07:28an electoral
07:29project and
07:30turned it
07:30into so much
07:31more,
07:32I will never
07:34be able
07:35to express
07:36the depth
07:36of my gratitude.
07:39You can
07:40sleep now.
07:43To my parents,
07:45Mama and Baba,
07:46you have made
07:52me into the
07:53man I am
07:54today.
07:56I am so
07:57proud to be
07:58your son.
08:02And to my
08:02incredible wife,
08:04Rama,
08:05Hayati,
08:10there is no
08:12one I would
08:13rather have
08:14by my side
08:15in this moment
08:16and in every
08:16moment.
08:20To every
08:21New Yorker,
08:22whether you
08:22voted for me,
08:24for one of my
08:24opponents,
08:25or felt too
08:26disappointed by
08:27politics to
08:27vote at all,
08:28thank you for
08:30the opportunity
08:30to prove myself
08:31worthy of your
08:32trust.
08:36I will wake
08:37each morning
08:38with a singular
08:38purpose.
08:40to make this
08:41city better
08:41for you
08:42than it was
08:42the day before.
08:46There are
08:47many who
08:47thought this
08:48day would
08:48never come,
08:50who feared
08:50that we would
08:51be condemned
08:51only to a
08:52future of less,
08:54with every
08:55election
08:55consigning us
08:56simply to
08:57more of the
08:58same.
08:59And there
09:00are others
09:01who see
09:02politics today
09:02as too cruel
09:03for the flame
09:05of hope to
09:05still burn.
09:07New York,
09:09we have
09:09answered
09:10those fears.
09:14Tonight,
09:15we have
09:15spoken in a
09:16clear voice.
09:17Hope is
09:18alive.
09:23Hope is a
09:24decision that
09:25tens of
09:25thousands of
09:26New Yorkers
09:26made day
09:27after day,
09:28volunteer shift
09:29after volunteer
09:31shift,
09:32despite attack
09:33ad after
09:33attack ad.
09:34more than a
09:37million of
09:38us stood
09:39in our
09:39churches,
09:40in gymnasiums,
09:42in community
09:42centers,
09:43as we filled
09:44in the
09:45ledger of
09:46democracy.
09:48And while we
09:49cast our
09:50ballots alone,
09:51we chose
09:52hope together.
09:53hope over
09:57tyranny,
09:58hope over
09:59big money
10:00and small
10:00ideas,
10:02hope over
10:04despair.
10:06We won
10:07because New
10:07Yorkers allowed
10:08themselves to
10:09hope that the
10:10impossible could
10:11be made
10:12possible.
10:12And we won
10:16because we
10:16insisted that
10:18no longer
10:18would politics
10:19be something
10:20that is done
10:21to us.
10:22Now it is
10:23something that
10:24we do.
10:33Standing
10:33before you,
10:35I think of
10:36the words of
10:36Jawaharlal Nehru.
10:39A moment
10:40comes but
10:41rarely in
10:42history.
10:43When we
10:43step out
10:44from the
10:44old to
10:45the new.
10:46When an
10:46age ends
10:47and when
10:47the soul
10:48of a
10:48nation
10:49long
10:49suppressed
10:50finds
10:50utterance.
10:52Tonight we
10:53have stepped
10:53out from
10:54the old
10:54into the
10:55new.
10:58So let
10:59us speak
11:00now with
11:00clarity and
11:01conviction
11:02that cannot
11:02be misunderstood
11:03about what
11:05this new
11:05age will
11:06deliver and
11:07for whom.
11:09This will
11:09be an
11:10age where
11:11New Yorkers
11:12expect from
11:12their leaders
11:13a bold
11:13vision of
11:14what we
11:14will achieve
11:15rather than
11:16a list of
11:17excuses for
11:18what we are
11:18too timid to
11:19attempt.
11:24Central to that
11:25vision will be the
11:26most ambitious
11:27agenda to tackle
11:28the cost of living
11:29crisis that this
11:31city has seen
11:32since the days of
11:33Fiora LaGuardia.
11:39An agenda that
11:41will freeze the
11:41rents for more
11:42than 2 million
11:43rent-stabilized
11:44tenants.
11:47Make buses
11:48fast and free
11:50and deliver
11:53universal child care
11:54across our city.
11:55years from now
12:01may our only
12:03regret be that
12:05this day took
12:06so long to
12:07come.
12:10This new
12:11age will be
12:12one of
12:12relentless
12:13improvement.
12:14We will hire
12:15thousands more
12:16teachers.
12:17We will cut
12:21waste from a
12:22bloated bureaucracy.
12:23We will work
12:25tirelessly to
12:26make lights shine
12:27again in the
12:29hallways of
12:29NYCHA
12:30developments where
12:31they have long
12:31flickered.
12:35Safety and
12:37justice will go
12:39hand in hand as
12:40we work with
12:40police officers to
12:41reduce crime and
12:43create a department
12:44of community
12:45safety that
12:46tackles the
12:47mental health
12:48crisis and
12:49homelessness
12:49crises head on.
12:53excellence will
12:54become the
12:55expectation across
12:56government, not
12:57the exception.
13:01In this new
13:02age we make for
13:03ourselves, we will
13:05refuse to allow
13:06those who traffic
13:07in division and
13:09hate to pit us
13:10against one
13:11another.
13:14In this moment of
13:15political darkness,
13:17New York will be
13:18the light.
13:18here we believe in
13:24standing up for
13:25those we love.
13:28Whether you are an
13:29immigrant, a member
13:31of the trans
13:32community, one of
13:35the many black
13:35women that Donald
13:36Trump has fired from
13:37a federal job, a
13:40single mom still
13:42waiting for the cost
13:43of groceries to go
13:44down, or anyone
13:47else with their
13:48back against the
13:49wall, your struggle
13:51is ours too.
13:55And we will build a
13:57city hall that
13:58stands steadfast
14:00alongside Jewish
14:01New Yorkers and
14:02does not waver in
14:04the fight against
14:05the scourge of
14:05anti-Semitism.
14:06where the more
14:10than one million
14:10Muslims know that
14:12they belong.
14:16Not just in the
14:17five boroughs of
14:18this city, but in
14:20the halls of power.
14:24No more will New
14:26York be a city where
14:28you can traffic in
14:29Islamophobia and win
14:30an election.
14:31This new age will
14:43be defined by a
14:44competence and a
14:45compassion that have
14:47too long been placed
14:48at odds with one
14:49another.
14:50We will prove that
14:52there is no problem
14:53too large for
14:54government to solve
14:55and no concern too
14:57small for it to care
14:58about.
14:59For years, those in
15:03city hall have only
15:04helped those who can
15:06help them.
15:07But on January 1st,
15:09we will usher in a
15:11city government that
15:12helps everyone.
15:17Now I know that
15:18many have heard our
15:20message only through
15:21the prism of
15:22misinformation.
15:24Tens of millions of
15:25dollars have been
15:26spent to redefine
15:28reality.
15:29and to convince our
15:30neighbors that this
15:31new age is something
15:33that should frighten
15:33them.
15:36As has so often
15:37occurred, the
15:39billionaire class has
15:40sought to convince
15:41those making $30 an
15:43hour that their
15:43enemies are those
15:45earning $20 an hour.
15:48They want the people
15:50to fight amongst
15:51ourselves so that we
15:52remain distracted from
15:54the work of
15:55remaking a long
15:56broken system.
15:58We refuse to let
16:01them dictate the
16:02rules of the game
16:03anymore.
16:05They can play by the
16:07same rules as the
16:08rest of us.
16:13Together, we will
16:14usher in a generation
16:16of change.
16:17And if we embrace this
16:19brave new course,
16:21rather than fleeing
16:22from it, we can
16:23respond to oligarchy and
16:25authoritarianism with the
16:27strength it fears, not the
16:29appeasement it craves.
16:30others.
16:35After all, if anyone can
16:38show a nation betrayed by
16:39Donald Trump how to
16:41defeat him, it is the
16:42city that gave rise to
16:44him.
16:49And if there is any way to
16:51terrify a despot, it is by
16:53dismantling the very
16:54conditions that allowed him
16:56to accumulate power.
17:00This is not only how we
17:02stop Trump, it's how we
17:04stop the next one.
17:10So, Donald Trump, since I
17:13know you're watching, I
17:16have four words for you.
17:19Turn the volume up.
17:21We will hold bad landlords to
17:46account because the Donald
17:48Trumps of our city have grown
17:50far too comfortable taking
17:52advantage of their tenants.
17:56We will put an end to the
17:57culture of corruption that
17:59has allowed billionaires like
18:01Trump to evade taxation and
18:03exploit tax breaks.
18:07We will stand alongside
18:09unions and expand labor
18:11protections because we know
18:15just as Donald Trump does that
18:18that when working people have
18:20ironclad rights, the bosses who
18:22seek to extort them become very
18:24small indeed.
18:29New York will remain a city of
18:32immigrants, a city built by
18:34immigrants, powered by
18:37immigrants, and as of tonight, led
18:44by an immigrant.
18:59So hear me, President Trump, when I
19:03say this, to get to any of us, you
19:06will have to get through all of us.
19:16When we enter City Hall in 58 days,
19:20expectations will be high.
19:23We will meet them.
19:28A great New Yorker once said that
19:30while you campaign in poetry, you
19:32govern in prose.
19:35If that must be true, let the
19:38prose we write still rhyme and let
19:40us build a shining city for all.
19:46And we must chart a new path as
19:49bold as the one we have already
19:50traveled.
19:52After all, the conventional wisdom
19:54would tell you that I am far from
19:56the perfect candidate.
19:58I am young, despite my best
20:01efforts to grow older.
20:03I am Muslim.
20:08I am a democratic socialist.
20:15And most damning of all, I refuse to
20:18apologize for any of this.
20:20And yet, if tonight teaches us
20:27anything, it is that convention has
20:30held us back.
20:33We have bowed at the altar of
20:35caution and we have paid a mighty
20:37price.
20:39Too many working people cannot
20:41recognize themselves in our party.
20:44And too many among us have turned to
20:47the right for answers to why they've
20:49been left behind.
20:51We will leave mediocrity in our
20:53past.
20:55No longer will we have to open a
20:58history book for proof that
20:59Democrats can dare to be great.
21:04Our greatness will be anything but
21:07abstract.
21:09It will be felt by every rent
21:11stabilized tenant who wakes up on the
21:13first of every month.
21:17Knowing the amount they're going to
21:19pay hasn't soared since the month
21:21before.
21:23It will be felt by each grandparent who
21:26can afford to stay in the home they
21:27have worked for.
21:30And whose grandchildren live nearby
21:33because the cost of child care didn't
21:36send them to Long Island.
21:37It will be felt by the single mother who is safe on her commute and whose bus runs fast enough that she doesn't have to rush school drop-off to make it to work on time.
21:50And it will be felt when New Yorkers open their newspapers in the morning and read headlines of success, not scandal.
22:02Most of all, it will be felt by each New Yorker when the city they love finally loves them back.
22:12Together, New York, we're going to freeze the
22:21Together, New York, we're going to make buses fast and
22:27Together, New York, we're going to deliver a universal
22:32Let the words we've spoken together, the dreams we've dreamt together, become the agenda.
22:42Together, we deliver together.
22:48New York, this power, it's yours.
22:54This city belongs to you.
23:12living, and it's yours.
23:28Thanks.
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