By: Meyer Wolfshiem

A top lieutenant to national teachers’ union boss Randi Weingarten privately questioned whether Zohran Mamdani is qualified to lead New York City — and pointed to the troubled tenure of Chicago’s progressive mayor Brandon Johnson as a cautionary example, according to a revealing email first reported by the New York Post.

The explosive remarks came from Leo Casey, a longtime union insider and current assistant to American Federation of Teachers president Weingarten. In a May 20 email sent to a Democratic Socialists of America listserv — just weeks before Mamdani swept the Democratic primary — Casey said winning elections is not the same as governing.

“A lot of our discussion here is on blocking [ex-Gov. Andrew] Cuomo and winning the election, which is important,” Casey wrote. “But the ability to govern also needs to be an important consideration. And winning an election does not necessarily translate into the ability to govern.” His message was revealed in leaked emails obtained by school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis and reviewed by the New York Post.

Casey then highlighted the cautionary tale of Brandon Johnson, the left-wing Chicago mayor who, despite union backing, has sunk to an 80% disapproval rating. “It has not gone well,” Casey wrote bluntly. “Because Johnson was our candidate, there is no public discussion on the left of what went wrong. But something has clearly gone wrong, and it can’t just be attributed to our enemies.”

The New York Post noted that while the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) — the largest local under Weingarten’s national umbrella — stayed neutral during the Democratic primary, it quickly lined up behind Mamdani after he crushed Cuomo, City Comptroller Brad Lander, and other rivals in June.

Casey, however, admitted in the leaked thread that he personally cast his ballot for Lander, arguing the comptroller’s résumé far outshined Mamdani’s. “Mamdani has no experience in city government,” Casey wrote. “Lander has two terms as a city councilperson and a term as city comptroller.”

In a response to DeAngelis, Casey confirmed the authenticity of the comments, though he insisted they reflected only his own voting choice. “I was explaining my primary vote & why I ranked Brad Lander above Mamdani,” he said. “I was clear that I would strongly support Mamdani if he won the primary. The thread has nothing to do with my union or Randi, both of whom support Mamdani.”

Weingarten herself, who has long been aligned with Casey since their teaching days at Brooklyn’s Clara Barton High School, downplayed the revelations. “Leo’s statement speaks for itself,” she told the New York Post. “Sadly, it’s not a surprise Corey would try to drag me into something. He’s obsessed with attacking unions & smearing me. It’s not hard to figure out my views about Mamdani — I am a fan.”

Despite questions about his résumé, Mamdani has been embraced by the union establishment thanks to his education platform. During the primary, the Queens assemblyman pledged to oppose the expansion of charter schools and to curb mayoral control of city schools — positions closely aligned with UFT priorities. Cuomo, by contrast, had championed charter growth and supported stricter accountability for teachers, drawing years of opposition from Weingarten’s allies.