Rep. Jamaal Bowman in Washington, D.C. (photo: @RepBowman)

U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman says he is optimistic about the incoming mayoral administration, even going so far as to say Eric Adams has the potential to be “one of the best mayors in New York City history,” but he’s less bullish about the state of Build Back Better in Congress, owing to what he describes as donor-driven obstruction by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.

Bowman, a freshman legislator who represents the Bronx and Westchester in Congress after defeating longtime incumbent Eliot Engel in a Democratic

Rep. Bowman with top New York leaders (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)

December 21, 2021 - Rep. Jamaal Bowman on 'Build Back Better,' Voting Rights, & More

Congressional Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a first-term progressive representing New York's 16th Congressional District, which covers parts of the Bronx and Westchester, joined the show to discuss where things stand on 'Build Back Better' and other top items on his agenda, how Democrats can come to a compromise on the massive

Ruben Diaz Jr. outside City Hall (photo: Diaz Jr./Flickr)

After Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., a Democrat, announced that he would retire from government at the end of his third term, it opened up the Bronx as fertile ground for votes in the 2021 New York City mayor’s race. Diaz Jr. had long hinted at and prepared for a run for mayor, and was considered a top contender. Without the threat of his charisma and popularity in the race, candidates who are running immediately saw a better opportunity to compete for the hearts, minds, and

Bronx political leaders Heastie, Diaz Jr., Crespo (photo: Bronx Borough President's Office)

To say the Bronx political landscape is changing is simultaneously both a trite observation and a vast understatement. The once-vaunted Democratic machine in the borough is currently leaderless and has lost many of its longtime fixtures in recent years, with more on their way off the political stage. This comes at a time when progressive and anti-establishment forces are gaining momentum across the city, though in some ways less so in the

(photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)

June 24, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: One Year to the 2021 Mayoral Primary

Political strategists Rebecca Katz of New Deal Strategies and Neal Kwatra of Metropolitan Strategies joined the show to discuss some of the initial results of 2020 primaries in New York and to look ahead to the 2021 mayoral primary, which is just one year away. Katz, fresh off helping to lead Jamaal Bowman to an upset win the New York's 16th Congressional District primary over Rep. Eliot Engel, broke

Jamaal Bowman's congressional campaign attempts to capture some 2018 magic (photo: Bowman campaign)

This story, and the series it is a part of, has been supported by the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems.

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After a massive wave of voters shook New York’s 2018 primary elections and subsequent state government, this year’s primary

Rep. Eliot Engel (photo: @RepEliotEngel)

Representative Eliot Engel of the Bronx and Westchester faced three Democratic primary opponents in a Tuesday evening debate hosted by BronxNet TV and the League of Women Voters of New York State, among other partners. Engel, who has held the seat since 1989, is running for reelection and debated opponents Jamaal Bowman, Sammy Ravelo, and Chris Fink. The debate was moderated by BronxTalk host Gary Axelbank.

Engel was repeatedly attacked by Bowman, a school principal who is running as a progressive alternative with