Why neophyte mayors need steady hands on the wheel

Public school teachers and state lawmakers fill important roles in a civil society, but those jobs hardly prepare their occupants for the daunting challenges and complexities of running a big city with millions of residents, tens of thousands of public employees and multibillion-dollar budgets.

- Andy Shaw, Tribune News Service

That sobering reality helps explain why Brandon Johnson, a relatively unknown teacher who broke out of a large pack to win Chicago's 2023 mayor's race, has stumbled badly enough in two-plus rocky years atop the City Hall food chain to tank in recent polls. And it’s a cautionary tale that certainly can't be lost on wunderkind Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old New York state assemblyman who is favoured to become New York City's next mayor.