New York City's Zohran Mamdani wasn't the only democratic socialist and fare-free public transit advocate elected to local office Tuesday. In Arizona, voters chose community organizer Miranda Schubert to represent Ward 6 on the Tucson City Council, according to unofficial results.
Schubert has been a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, known as the DSA, for years and helped form the Transit for All Coalition, which advocates for free buses in Tucson.
Asked about similarities between her campaign and Mamdani's, Schubert said they revealed a common pattern.
"When campaigns are grounded in the priorities of working families, and when we talk about the things that are going to make people's everyday lives better, they show up and they respond to that," she told reporters at a Pima County Democratic Party election night event Tuesday.
Schubert had run for the same seat in 2021 -- with the national DSA's endorsement -- but lost the primary to incumbent council member Steve Kozachik, who left office in 2024.
This August's primary was a different story, with Schubert winning a three-way contest that saw a higher voter turnout than any other ward's race. Schubert went on to win the general election with over 67% of the vote against Republican Jay Tolkoff.
About 40 of Schubert's over 160 campaign volunteers were in Tucson's DSA chapter, said member Jeanne Lukasko, who was active in the campaign and quickly drew a comparison between Schubert and Mamdani.
"Schubert has mirrored what happened in New York City tonight and has taken the same cost of living campaign that Mamdani just won with and brought it to Tucson," they said.
"We're coming in as a wrecking ball because we want this city to be controlled by workers and by working-class people, and made for us, not made for elites or billionaires," Lukasko said of the DSA in Tucson, which they said has grown to about 200 members.
Another DSA-endorsed city council candidate, Sadie Shaw, lost August's Ward 3 Democratic primary to incumbent Kevin Dahl by a razor-thin margin.
But the group's support helped put Schubert over the finish line. Her campaign knocked on over 37,000 doors, she said at the watch party. In Ward 5, Selina Barajas' winning campaign knocked on over 19,000 doors, the candidate said. Ward 3 winner Kevin Dahl said his campaign did not keep track of their number.
Schubert said she's exploring ways to bring her relationship with groups in her coalition -- which include several labor unions -- into office, like forming a citizens' advisory council and encouraging allies to seek seats on city boards and commissions.
"We intend to have a very close relationship with Miranda, holding events at her office, working with her to meet constituents' needs," Lukasko said.
Schubert said road safety and homelessness will be her priorities as she begins her council term.
"They're incredibly dangerous for pedestrians, for people who drive cars, for cyclists," she said of Tucson streets.
"We need more shelter, we need more affordable housing," she said.
Though it wasn't listed on Schubert's website as a campaign priority, Lukasko said the candidate's support for replacing Tucson Electric Power with a publicly owned utility attracted the local DSA to her campaign.
"That's why we're so gung-ho about Miranda, because she supports taking over TEP," Lukasko said.
"I fundamentally disagree with a system that prioritizes profit over meeting the basic survival needs of Tucsonans, and also believe we have a moral imperative to tap into every possible option to clean up our grid. I look forward to exploring public power with my soon-to-be colleagues on the Council," Schubert wrote to AZPM News in response to a question about her stance on the issue.
An April study commissioned by the city of Tucson found that a public power utility could lower rates for consumers. TEP called the study "profoundly flawed."
Schubert's politics will soon be tested on the city council. She said she anticipates reinstating bus fares to be discussed during her term. Council members Paul Cunningham and Nikki Lee have raised the idea. Schubert stuck to her fare-free position, however, arguing that her victory showed voters backed it.
She also suggested reviewing 2025 city ordinances that penalize camping in city-owned washes and standing in medians. Her predecessor, retiring council member Karin Uhlich, voted in favor of both ordinances.
"At the doors, I heard from voters over and over again that they didn't think this was the right direction to move in," Schubert said. "Not without more solutions, like places for people to go if we don't want them in the washes and on the medians."
The local election's results will be official when they are certified by the Pima County Board of Supervisors.