Of all the democratic socialists who piled into a Manhattan church on Wednesday evening, none had the cachet of the man handed a microphone toward the meeting’s close.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani offered some pleasantries — “Hello friends, Zohran, he/him, Queens D.S.A.” — before launching into his mission: torpedoing the candidacy of a left-leaning ally, Councilman Chi Ossé, who is attempting to unseat Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat.
The remarkable scene was both a reflection of the tricky political calculuses Mr. Mamdani confronts as he prepares to take office next year and the egalitarian nature of a group that served as the grass-roots organizing machine of his political success.
OK, this is just a theory, and I’m trying to steel man Mamdani here, so don’t come after me for this, but follow me. I have a strong suspicion that both the Green Party and DSA are compromised, whether it’s by Democrats, CIA, FBI, or whatever. And my understanding is that Ossé is pretty new to DSA, and that he worked for the Kamala social media campaign. So what if Ossé is a plant by dems/cia/whatever into the DSA, and that’s why Zohran and AOC don’t support him, but they’re not ready to come out and explain their reasoning, and admit that DSA is compromised. It’s just a random theory of mine. Thoughts?
It doesn’t even have to be that fancy. It could just be that Ossé is kind of an idiot or something, and this specific challenge is unlikely to succeed and likely to produce a bunch of heat and friction while it is failing.
I have no idea. I do kind of agree with the idea that if Mamdani and AOC are both weighing in publicly on this issue, then maybe they know something about it that I don’t, as opposed to the “the ONLY explanation is that they’re both compromised by the DNC and Ossé is obviously wonderful and we already know that and he’s exempt from all the nail biting scrutiny which we aim at certain other socialist politicians” theory.
For the Ossé supporters: Who is this guy? Why do you like him? I don’t like Jeffries either, I think he’s a bum for sure. Primarying him in general sounds great, to me.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Ossé
Ossé worked for several years in the entertainment industry as a promoter.[5] In May 2020, amid nationwide protests over the murder of George Floyd, Ossé became a prominent Black Lives Matter organizer and co-founded the activist collective “Warriors in the Garden”.[6] According to public statements, Ossé joined the Democratic Socialists of America in 2020 but left shortly after as he felt his views and those of the organization’s did not align.[7] Ossé rejoined the New York City chapter in the summer of 2025, following Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the 2025 New York City Democratic mayoral primary.[8]
Ossé rejected an offer to serve as a delegate for Joe Biden at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, but ultimately elected to attend the event following the withdrawal of Biden, being granted a credential as one of approximately 200 influencers at the DNC.[9]
Ossé filed to run in New York’s 8th congressional district against Hakeem Jeffries in November 2025, but did not win the endorsement of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America.[22][23] Following the result, Ossé stated he would not run.[24]
whelp, there it is.
Yep he already pivoting to the right. Fucking goddammit he could’ve just kept his mouth shiut. Why I said we can’t have progressive under the Democratic party. We need our own party and I know it sucks, but we need to start from the ground up. Just like Sanders told us to in 2016. Yet none of these people listen. They keep thinking they can reform the Democrats. No the Democrats reform you to become other neoliberal or get outed. Look at AOC and you can see it happening in real time. In twenty years if we still have a democracy she will be no different then Nancy Pelosi.
He isn’t pivoting going public with the opinion he’d apparently held privately.
Here’s a member within the NYC-DSA arguing against it: https://www.socialistmajority.com/theagitator/chi-osse-endorsement
Starting an independent socialist political party I don’t think changes the discussion whether Chi Ossé would contend well against Jeffries, and the idea that time effort and money would be better spent working towards a seat in the NY State Assembly.
Thank you. I was waiting for a reason WHY AOC and Mamdani did not support him (aside from “It’s not the right time”)
"*Some within NYC-DSA have decried Chi Ossé as an “opportunist.” That a politician sees our organization as a potential vehicle for advancement shouldn’t necessarily be a cause for alarm; on its face, it’s a good thing! However, Chi Ossé has repeatedly failed to align with NYC-DSA over the years until our endorsement could help propel him to Congress.
When given the chance to endorse Eon Huntley for State Assembly in 2024 against an opponent backed by the real estate and pro-Israel lobby, he decided to stay silent. He sought and didn’t get DSA’s endorsement back in 2020 during his initial city council run. Unlike Emily Gallagher, who ran without NYC-DSA then joined our Socialist in Office Committee, Chi declined to join our SiO."*
Outside of trading a Democrat who is well liked in his own district for another Democrat (meaning no gain in the house), it sounds like they are trying to ensure the DSA consolidates power in the State of NY, which leads to higher profile gains, which will lead to a potential Presidential run by a Democratic Socialist. So they are playing chess in the background and trying to be strategic. That’s why Mamdani is saying, “It’s not the right time.” Thank you. It makes more sense to me now.
Ok, that context does add a lot to the story, and it does make sense why Mamdani wouldn’t endorse him. It’s also concerning that Chi Osse wouldn’t back a candidate who was running against an Israeli puppet.
Not even mayor yet and he’s already acting like Trump on the left.
Curious to see how givesomefucks or tropicaldingdong will spin this.
