Bronx Holocaust Survivor, 92, Casts First-Ever Vote Backing Andrew Cuomo Against Zohran Mamdani
A Historic First Vote in the Bronx
At 92 years old, Galina Guterman stood in line at the Riverdale YMCA in the Bronx, holding a small folder that contained her voter registration card and a Russian-language ballot guide. For the first time in her life, she was preparing to vote. The moment represented far more than civic participation—it was a personal triumph rooted in history, fear, and resilience.
Guterman, a Holocaust survivor who fled Nazi-occupied Russia as a child and later escaped the Soviet Union in the 1990s, cast her ballot in support of mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo. Her motivation, she said through a Russian interpreter, was clear: she distrusted candidate Zohran Mamdani, whom she accused of harboring antisemitic beliefs and endorsing policies she sees as dangerously reminiscent of socialist regimes that shaped her past.
“This is my first time voting,” Guterman declared softly, her hands trembling slightly as she emerged from the voting booth. “I never believed this would happen in my lifetime—to choose a leader freely, without fear.”
From War-Torn Russia to the Bronx
Guterman was born in 1933 in what was then the Soviet Union. When Nazi Germany invaded in 1941, her family was forced to flee their home in western Russia, eventually arriving in Siberia. The family survived freezing winters, food shortages, and the loss of relatives during the Holocaust.
After the war, Guterman remained in the Soviet Union but lived under constant scrutiny because of her Jewish background. State antisemitism in postwar Russia affected every part of her life. She was denied certain university opportunities and later faced harassment when she worked as a teacher.
In the late 1980s, amid a wave of Jewish emigration, she and her husband decided to leave. Their departure in 1991, during the collapse of the Soviet Union, came after an antisemitic arson attack destroyed their summer home outside Moscow—a traumatic event Guterman says she never forgot. Eventually, the couple resettled in New York City’s Bronx, where they joined a community of Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants who had fled similar persecution.
Cuomo Gains Symbolic Support Amid Heated Election
Guterman’s support for former governor Andrew Cuomo—now making a political comeback as a mayoral candidate—has drawn attention due to its symbolic significance. For Guterman, Cuomo represents experience, stability, and moral clarity in a political climate she views with growing distrust.
“I watch him on television,” she said, recalling his years as governor during the COVID-19 pandemic. “He is not perfect, but he is strong, honest, and he understands responsibility. That is what my country did not have.”
In her statement, Guterman accused Zohran Mamdani, the progressive front-runner, of holding views that evoke deep fears from her past. Mamdani, a Queens-based state assemblyman known for his advocacy on housing rights and Palestine solidarity, has faced criticism from Jewish organizations for his outspoken support of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel.
Guterman described Mamdani’s policies as “dangerous socialism,” drawing a connection between what she called “planned economies that ruin nations” and the proposals outlined in his campaign platform. She also referenced his call for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a war criminal—a statement Mamdani later clarified as part of a broader critique of war accountability, though he has distanced himself from the more militant slogan “globalize the intifada.”
Historical Parallels and Community Reaction
Riverdale, the Bronx neighborhood where Guterman lives, is known for its vibrant Jewish community and tradition of political engagement. Many residents identify as moderate Democrats or independents, with strong feelings about growing antisemitism and progressive politics’ relationship to Israel.
Angela Becker, director of the Riverdale Jewish Community Council, said Guterman’s story had sparked emotional discussions among local congregants. “Her experience reminds us that voting is not just a right—it’s a response to history,” Becker said. “For many immigrants from the former Soviet Union, the concept of a free election carries immense emotional weight.”
Historians note that Guterman represents a generation whose political lens remains shaped by totalitarian regimes and ethnic persecution. Dr. Yelena Stolyarov, a professor of Eastern European studies at Brooklyn College, explains that older immigrants often equate left-wing populism with the socialist ideology they fled. “For many who grew up in Soviet societies, the language of redistribution or anti-imperialism immediately recalls collectivization, censorship, and state control,” she said. “That memory defines how they engage with American politics.”
Antisemitism Concerns and Political Implications
Guterman’s remarks about antisemitism highlight broader concerns in New York and across the United States. In recent years, antisemitic incidents have risen sharply, with the Anti-Defamation League reporting record-high cases of harassment and assault.
Some voters say Mamdani’s rhetoric, though intended as human rights advocacy, fuels divisions within the Jewish community. Others argue his positions reflect legitimate criticism of state violence and should not be equated with prejudice.
Rabbi David Lehrer of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale emphasized the importance of tolerance in public discourse. “We must separate disagreement from discrimination,” he said, “but we must also listen sincerely when Holocaust survivors feel fear. Their experiences are not political—they are existential.”
Cuomo’s campaign has not commented directly on Mamdani’s statements but has presented him as inexperienced and ideologically extreme. His team has focused on practical governance messages: repairing public infrastructure, restoring business confidence, and maintaining public safety—issues that resonate strongly with older and immigrant voters.
Economic Anxiety and the Politics of Memory
Guterman’s life story also intersects with the larger economic anxieties shaping this election. She recalled standing in bread lines as a child in Stalin’s Russia and described those memories as reawakening whenever she hears discussions about redistributing wealth or nationalizing industries. “People think socialism means fairness,” she said. “For us, it meant hunger.”
Economists note that her perspective, while rooted in historical trauma, captures a key emotional thread running through parts of the electorate. Many New Yorkers, particularly among immigrant communities, express nostalgia for stability and fear of rapid ideological change.
Dr. Richard Hanley, a political economist at CUNY, explained, “Economic debates in New York have become deeply moralized. For someone like Guterman, a political platform that even gestures toward socialism can trigger vivid memories of oppression. That connection to lived experience is powerful in shaping voting behavior.”
The Bronx as a Political Crossroads
The Bronx has long mirrored the broader evolution of New York City politics—from the machine-driven Democratic era of the 20th century to the diverse, issue-based coalitions of today. The borough’s mix of working-class families, immigrants, and long-time residents creates a volatile, unpredictable electorate.
Cuomo’s decision to focus his campaign efforts in the Bronx underscores its potential swing importance. His supporters describe him as a pragmatic leader capable of rebuilding trust in city institutions. Mamdani’s base, meanwhile, remains younger, more diverse, and concentrated in progressive enclaves beyond traditional power structures.
Recent polling suggests a tightening race, with Mamdani maintaining a narrow lead but facing increasing scrutiny from centrist and Jewish voters. Guterman’s story, though singular, has gained attention on social media and among political commentators as emblematic of deeper generational and cultural divides within New York’s Democratic landscape.
Freedom, Fear, and Civic Awakening
For Guterman, the act of voting carried emotional weight decades in the making. As she left the Riverdale YMCA, clutching her “I Voted” sticker, she paused to reflect on the journey that brought her there—from the frozen forests of Siberia to a polling station in the Bronx. “I do not know who will win,” she said. “But today, I have won. I have spoken.”
Her story serves as a reminder of how individual votes often carry histories far larger than politics. In a city defined by constant reinvention, her first ballot represents both the endurance of memory and the fragile promise of democracy—a promise that continues to draw people like her to its light, even after a lifetime spent in its shadows.