Lately, I've found myself scarfing down chips and swilling cokes while staring at the many New York City candidates telling me why they are the best qualified for the job of mayor. They fill the Zoom cubes on my screen nearly every day, like the opening credits of The Brady Bunch.
This, of course, is because the pandemic has made campaigning a virtual affair with an ad infinitum schedule of mayoral Zoom forums. Think of any constituency in New York City who wants a say in this critical primary — neighborhood Democratic clubs, public housing residents, the homeless, the hospitality industry, immigration advocates, Muslims, Black women, and even non-voting-eligible city youths — chances are, they are hosting a Zoom forum. They occur at all hours of the day, often lasting as long as three hours. (Today? There are four.)
If you’re a reporter like me, you are tuning in often and for hours at a time, while ingesting some hastily-assembled carbs. All this while listening to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, perhaps the healthiest candidate on the campaign trail, describe (for the umpteeth time) his inspiring journey to veganism. At the risk of alienating a crucial voting demographic, he also wants you to know that butter is not good for you.
But what does all of this Zoom campaigning effectively mean for this election and the prospect of an informed electorate? Before Andrew Yang contracted coronavirus, I attended a couple of his in-person events for reporting on a story about the Asian American vote. The stump speech candidates give on Zoom may be the same as the ones they give on the street, but there’s only one way to know whether they land with potential voters. Does the crowd look inspired? Bored? What’s their age and race? Are they mainly here for the celebrity who just endorsed him? How much do they know about the candidate’s policies?
At a press event in Flushing, Yang’s speech was suddenly interrupted by a protester screaming about freedom in China. It’s spontaneous occurrences like these in which you get to see how a candidate responds without a script. (For the most part, Yang and his campaign staffers handled the disruption with aplomb.)
I, for one, can’t wait for these Zoom affairs to end. Neal Kwatra, a Democratic political consultant recently told me that he believes the nature of the race will change as the weather gets warmer.
"The spring will be a pivotal time when more New Yorkers will be vaccinated and the city will be coming out of its slumber," he said.
Let’s hope that’s true, for a better campaign season, election, and the health of the city all around.
This story originally ran in our Politics Brief newsletter — you can sign up below.
