HKS Lecturer Advised Zohran Mamdani on Sustaining Momentum, Avoiding the ‘Obama Trap’
Harvard Kennedy School lecturer Marshall L. Ganz ’64 met with incoming New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani in August to advise his campaign on how to sustain a grassroots movement once in office.
Ganz, a political organizing scholar who played a central role in Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, said Mamdani’s team was keen to avoid a widely reported misstep of Obama’s: sidelining the organizing base that elected him.
En route to taking down former governor Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s mayoral race, Mamdani — a 34-year-old New York assemblyman and democratic socialist — mobilized an army of more than 100,000 volunteers, breathing life into a beleaguered Democratic party.
Now, he must deliver.
“A lot of the discussion was about what comes next,” Ganz said. “How to avoid the Obama trap, how to avoid having built a really great organization and just dissipating it.”
“That’s what they’re up to now,” he added. “They're trying to learn from the past, not to repeat it.”
One way Mamdani’s team is doing that, Ganz said, is by directing his supporters toward a new advocacy nonprofit, Our Time for an Affordable NYC. Launched on Thursday, the organization’s stated aim is to put the energy of Mamdani’s volunteer base toward a new task: getting his agenda enacted.
“They’re building an organization parallel, but not owned by Mamdani — but parallel in values and orientation to the campaign,” Ganz said of the nascent nonprofit.
Ganz, whose role as a consultant was first reported by The New York Times, was first brought onto the team by field organizer Tascha Van Auken, also an Obama alum. Over the course of the campaign, Ganz ran training for Mamdani staffers.
“The deep investment that they made in leadership development — nobody’s done that since the Obama campaign,” Ganz said.
Ganz claimed he didn’t have much to change about the campaign, which already “had it right” when he was recruited, he said.
“Sometimes, wisdom is recognizing a good thing and supporting it, rather than saying, ‘Oh, this sucks. Do it my way,’” Ganz said. “That’s the arrogance of our political class, and it’s the arrogance of the consulting industry. But that’s not what this was.”
A spokesperson for the Mamdani campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Ganz’s involvement with the campaign.
Mamdani has sourced input widely in preparation for taking office, including from Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, deputy mayor for health and human services in Bill de Blasio’s administration, and liberal policy analyst Matt Bruenig. (Bruenig wrote in a statement that he was focused on policy ideas and implementation, and had not worked with Ganz.)
And though Obama did not endorse Mamdani’s campaign, the former president called him twice between the primary and general election. They spoke most recently on Saturday last week, where the two discussed the challenges of implementing a policy vision.
Thus far, Mamdani has tapped a transition team that balances progressive bona fides with substantial political experience — including former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan as well as staff who served under the mayoral administrations of Eric Adams, Bill de Blasio, and Michael Bloomberg.
Ganz, for one, is interested in how Mamdani’s success can pave a new path for Democrats. Though the mayor garnered national attention for his savvy marketing and digital presence, Ganz said the campaign was successful because of “the humanity of it.”
“James Carville was famous for saying it’s the economy, stupid,” Ganz said. “I’d want to say it’s about the people, stupid.”
“It’s a movement in the making,” he added.
Ganz, who attended Tuesday’s election night party, said the celebration was centered around volunteers. There were no VIP rooms, he noted, and it was the field organizer, Van Auken, who addressed the crowd, rather than a donor or adviser. The crowd, like Mamdani’s base, was young.
“I probably raised the median age by — well, I was an outlier, to put it that way,” Ganz quipped. “It’s hopeful, it’s energetic, it’s aspirational.”
Mamdani is now faced with the task of channeling that energy toward the transition into office and the unenviable task of governing a city with a $115 billion budget and 300,000 municipal employees. Ganz said it wasn’t clear what his role would be in that process, but he is ready to help.
“I want to be of service. I want to be involved in any way I can,” Ganz said. “I really think it matters.”
—Staff writer Elise A. Spenner can be reached at elise.spenner@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @EliseSpenner.
—Staff writer Tanya J. Vidhun can be reached at tanya.vidhun@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @tanyavidhun.
No. 3 Harvard Field Hockey Beats Brown, Advances to Ivy Championship Game on Sunday
The No. 3 Harvard field hockey team (17-0, 8-0 Ivy) kept its perfect season alive on Friday morning, defeating No. 19 Brown (10-6, 4-4 Ivy) 2-0 in the Ivy League Tournament semifinal match on Berylson Field.
With the win, the Crimson advances to another Ivy League Championship Final as it strives to secure its third consecutive Ivy League Tournament title. On Sunday at noon Harvard will take on the winner of the other semifinal match, No. 5 Princeton (14-3, 7-1).
The Crimson, which earned tournament hosting privileges due to its undefeated Ancient Eight record, entered the tournament as the top seed. This fall, Harvard made history, becoming the first program in the Ivy League to ever secure a perfect regular season record.
In the first quarter, both the Crimson and Brown’s defenses held firm, keeping each side to just one shot. Neither team was able to nab a penalty corner chance or gain any sustained offensive possession.
Harvard’s defense, which continued its season-long run of being aggressive, yet smart with its pressure, forced the Bears to repeatedly turn the ball over in the midfield. Earning possession, the Crimson’s defenders, anchored by three-time All-American Bronte-May Brough in the backfield, sent the ball zipping upfield to its offense. The midfielders expertly facilitated the forward momentum, pushing the ball into scoring territory and creating multiple fast break chances for the home team.
Finally, with just 31 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Harvard was able to break through Brown’s defensive line during a rapid push upfield. Sophomore Martha le Huray drove forward, hammering a shot towards the net. Positioned in front of the net, junior forward Sage Piekarski smoothly tipped the ball past the Bears’ goalkeeper, Ellie Parker.
Crimson fans erupted into cheers as El Alfa’s La Mamá de la Mamá blasted from Berylson Field’s speakers, celebrating the home team’s goal. Harvard’s players, both on the bench and on the field, danced happily, ringing in the goal.
Merely five minutes later, in the second quarter of play, the Crimson doubled its lead. Junior midfielder Lara Beekhuis picked up a loose ball near the top of the circle, deftly drove through three defenders, and ripped a shot over Parker to make it 2-0. Beekhuis, the 2024 Ivy League Tournament Most Outstanding Player, has now scored ten goals this season and tallied an impressive 25 points.
For the rest of the quarter, Harvard dominated possession of the game and sent five shots blazing toward the net. Notably, the Crimson’s defense supressed the Bears’ efforts of mounting a comeback by preventing Brown from shooting during the entirety of the quarter.
After the halftime break, the Bears began to ramp up their own pressure, fighting in hopes of earning the chance to play another game. Brown earned a penalty corner opportunity, but Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Linde Burger made a critical save, allowing Harvard to maintain its two-goal lead.
On another fastbreak for the Crimson, Piekarski was toppled by Parker who had stepped out of the net in hopes of stuffing a potential shot. Harvard was granted a penalty stroke for Parker’s hit. Head Coach Tjerk van Herwaarden tasked sophomore midfielder Tilly Butterworth with the stroke. The Norwich, UK native stared down Brown’s other goalkeeper, Kylee Del Monte, who entered the game just to face the stroke shot.
Butterworth ripped a formidable shot towards the net, but with a dramatic ding, it rang off the left post and out of bounds. Del Monte raced off the field, to be replaced by Parker in the goal. After Brown’s goalie switch, Harvard’s offensive onslaught persisted, as it earned two consecutive penalty corner opportunities to close out the quarter.
In the final quarter of play, the Bears’ desperation was apparent. The visiting team fought valiantly, striving to ignite a comeback and dish Harvard its first lost in Ivy League Tournament history. Although Brown was able to outshoot the Crimson in 6-1 in the last fifteen minutes, largely because they pulled Parker and added an extra field player to have a woman-up advantage, the Bears were unable to score.
Harvard’s defense remained calm throughout the entirety of the contest, but its compsure was particularly apparent in the final few minutes of the game. The Crimson’s defensive squad blocked shots, maintained its structure, and refused to give Brown the space or time fire off a clean shot. Thanks to the stellar defensive play and a few critical saves, Burger was able to tally her eighth shutout of the season.
Despite the Bears’ late offensive surge, when the whistle blared signaling the end of the game the scoreboard read 2-0 in favor of Harvard.
The Crimson heads to the Ivy League Championship Game on Sunday at noon, where it will face off against No. 5 Princeton in a rematch of last year’s title bout. Harvard will look to secure its third consecutive Ivy League title and extend its unblemished record.
— Staff writer Isabel C. Smail can be reached at isabel.smail@thecrimson.com.