NEW YORK, CMC – A Brooklyn, New York-based group known as Caribbean Americans United in Support of Mamdani for Mayor (CAUISOMM) has been officially launched to support the Democratic Party nominee Zohran Kwame Mamdani for Mayor of New York City in November’s elections.
In a virtual meeting to launch the organization, Ernest Skinner, CAUISOMM’s Trinidadian-born founder, said the motivation for the organization’s creation grew out of his “antipathy for Andrew Cuomo (former New York Governor), who had been vanquished in the Democratic primary by Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, despite the major odds against such an outcome and the arrogance of Cuomo for not accepting honorably the decision of 545,000 fellow Democrats who supported Zohran.”
Skinner noted that Cuomo, instead, decided to launch a campaign as an Independent in the General Elections.
Skinner also criticized incumbent New York City Mayor Eric Adams for “betraying the hopes and aspirations of people of colour who voted for him in hopes that he would build on the goodwill, which David Dinkins (late New York City Mayor) generated in his creation of an agenda to thwart the stranglehold that the moneyed interests have maintained over the aspirations of the lower-and middle-income residents of New York City.”
Multiple McDonald’s Gospel Fest winner Trinidadian Gerald Placide gave a soulful rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (the Black National Anthem) before a cohort of elected officials, including Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants, who New York State Assembly Member Monique Chandler-Waterman introduced.
Chandler-Waterman, the daughter of Jamaican and Barbadian immigrants, who represents the 58th Assembly District in Brooklyn, said that Mamdani’s agenda “resonates” with the attending legislators and their constituents.
Skinner said special guest speaker, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, served as “an excellent surrogate for Mamdani as she extolled the virtues of Zohran’s platform, which has been fashioned around the theme that New York is too expensive to live in and what is needed is dramatic and bold initiatives to make life easier for long-time residents and newcomers alike.”
A highlight of James’s presentation was when she interrupted her speech to announce that New York Governor Kathy Hochul had finally endorsed Mamdani for Mayor.
Skinner told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that the purpose of the formation of the group is “to empower the Caribbean community within New York City, since census reports estimate that 20 percent of New Yorkers have Caribbean roots.
“Having a seat at the table during the campaign provides the opportunity to have input after Mamdani becomes mayor,” he said.
During the recent Labour Day weekend festivities, a bevy of Caribbean-American legislators were on hand to welcome Mamdani to the Little Caribbean community in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Wayne Ragguette, the Vincentian-born owner of Nanni Health Food Store, told CMC afterwards that he was pleased with Mamdani’s visit to “Little Caribbean”.
“I think it was a good thing for him to see how to operate a small business and some of the issues and concerns we have as merchants in the area,” he said. “Hopefully, if elected, he will return to the neighborhood and address some of those issues.”
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