How Did New York City Politics Become So Boring?

Walter Shapiro: “Less than four weeks before the June 22 mayoral primary, none of the eight leading Democratic candidates has shown an ounce of the charisma, stature, or sheer force of personality that mayors once used to dominate the headlines—and the city. Most of the leading contenders are competent, to be sure, but it is hard to call any of them inspiring. Even the supposed dynamic outsider in the race, Andrew Yang, has accomplished little in life other than having his presidential campaign peak with an eighth-place showing (2.8 percent of the vote) in the 2020 New Hampshire primary.”