Zohran Mamdani has dominated recent conversations about the future of the Democratic party.

His political rise last year was fueled by a popular affordability-based campaign, a primary opponent who was unpopular with most voters and a flair for social media that captured the attention of the nation.

But while New York takes the spotlight for Democratic politics, Los Angeles is a big, blue, diverse city with a similar population.

Since both cities have similar demographics and issues with the cost of living, LA should be involved in the same national conversations as New York.

[Related: Gallery: Exploring New York City’s boroughs for 24 hours]

UCLA must encourage its students to actively learn about and participate in the LA community, push opportunities to get involved in local politics and pull talented researchers to our campus to helm the next technological breakthrough. We, as students, must take advantage of these opportunities and integrate ourselves in the history and community of LA.

Gaspar Rivera-Salgado, director of the UCLA Center for Mexican Studies, said there are two economic centers in the U.S. – Wall Street and Silicon Valley.

“New York is the financial center of the United States,” Rivera-Salgado said. “It’s not any city. I mean, you think about banks. You think about Wall Street. Ask anyone in the world to name a city in the United States – the chances are that they name New York.”

The same goes for Silicon Valley.

As artificial intelligence has grown and begun to dominate our economic landscape, it has pulled San Francisco further into the spotlight. KBS, an investment firm, found that 42% of all AI companies are within the Bay Area, whose financial success also propels prominent California politicians such as Gavin Newsom.

“If you think about politicians in San Francisco, they’ve been propped, and they have worked in alliance with Silicon Valley money – and that’s where the funding is,” Rivera-Salgado added.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles is dominated by culture, film and the entertainment industry in Hollywood.

The cultural exports from Los Angeles spread across the world and globally project the American image. But the film industry itself is not enough of a pull-factor as Silicon Valley or Wall Street. Hollywood does not have nearly the same amount of money and influence as do tech and finance.

Still, Mamdani should not be that much more influential than Karen Bass – our mayor.

“One of the biggest things we can do is get more politicians in the LA area who are young and charismatic,” said Cole Hoyle, a third-year political science and history student, as well as political director of Bruin Democrats. “New York has very consistently been able to get politicians who are able to build a national platform in a way I don’t think LA has quite been able to do to the same extent.”

Karen Bass is 72 years old and has been elected to positions in L.A. politics since 2004. The New York mayor is 34 years of age and has only been in elected office since 2021. Bass’s social media presence also pales in comparison to Mamdani’s.

Youth and energy are a huge motivating factor for voters – as seen by the coalition mobilized for Mamdani in the Democratic primaries last year. And Los Angeles currently does not have that energy.

“I probably have a preference for social media-oriented people who go on podcasts,” said Blake Davenport, a third-year public affairs student. “That’s the main reason it came to my attention, mainly social media, because I don’t really know too many people my age who read the news much, especially on their phones.”

If we want L.A. to become a more prominent player in national politics, we cannot trust a 72-year-old career politician to navigate the latest TikTok trend or internet meme.

Some trends are pointing toward a younger political climate emerging in Los Angeles. Nithya Raman, a 44-year-old LA councilmember, announced a bid to challenge Mayor Bass. She has only been in office for 6 years and is the first LA councilmember to challenge an incumbent mayor in the last 20 years.

True authenticity with young people comes from knowing how to navigate the rooms they frequent.

UCLA also plays a role in LA’s national prominence.

As one of the top universities in the country and world, UCLA has the capacity to create monumental technology that can level the playing field with Silicon Valley and pull L.A. to the spotlight.

UCLA can also mobilize its energetic student body to make a difference in our city. Encouraging students to get into the weeds of our city’s government could prepare the next youthful politician to emulate Mamdani’s success in a big, blue city.

There are many reasons why New York has more national prominence than LA. But Angelenos represent the heart of a future America – one that is young, incredibly diverse and full of potential to carry the Democratic party forward.