Brooklyn College has come under criticism for hosting a town hall featuring Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that promotions list as including “special guest Zohran Mamdani,” a New York City mayoral candidate, prompting complaints that the public campus is being used to advance a partisan campaign event.
The event, billed as the “Fight Oligarchy” Town Hall, is scheduled for Saturday night at the Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College. Critics say the college’s promotional materials and the event’s lineup cross the line between hosting a public forum and actively supporting a candidate.
Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, who served as a CUNY trustee for 15 years during the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations, told the New York Post that the gathering is a political event organized to help Mamdani. “This is a political event,” Wiesenfeld said. “Oligarchy my ass. Sanders is coming to New York to help Mamdani.” He added that “there is no counterpoint,” noting that other mayoral candidates — including incumbent Eric Adams, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa — were not scheduled to appear.
Jerry Cammarata, a longtime Staten Island Republican operative and educator who once sat on the city’s former Board of Education, also criticized the campus appearance. Organizers have promoted the night as part of a broader discussion about economic inequality and political power, with Sanders slated to headline the session.
The criticisms center on the role of public university space in political activities and whether the explicit naming of a local candidate as a featured guest amounts to institutional endorsement. Opponents argue that a publicly funded campus should not be used in a way that appears to favor one candidate in a municipal election.
Event promotions list Sanders as the keynote speaker and highlight Mamdani’s participation; the college has been asked about the presence of a declared mayoral candidate at the event. Critics contend that hosting and promoting a speaker roster that includes a candidate without scheduling speakers from other campaigns creates an uneven platform during an active election cycle.
Brooklyn College has previously hosted a range of political and civic events. Public colleges and universities often describe such programs as part of their educational mission to facilitate debate and civic engagement, though specific institutional policies and the extent to which they limit campaign activity vary.
The town hall is set to proceed Saturday evening at the Tow Center. Organizers and the college did not provide additional details to the reporting outlet at the time of publication regarding whether other speakers from rival campaigns would be invited or how the event would accommodate counterpoints from other mayoral contenders.