Did Zohran Mamdani cite medical, personal, or official reasons for his 2024 absences?

1. What the record shows about absences in Albany

The most direct piece in the packet, the Times Union report, states that Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani “was absent for about a third” of the Assembly’s 71 session days in the year the story covered and identifies him as the Democrat with the most absences in the chamber that year ^[1]. That same story emphasizes comparative context by noting other members’ attendance patterns — for example, an 88‑year‑old Republican who never physically entered the chamber during the legislative session — and points out that leaders declined to comment on absences ^[1].

2. What Mamdani is reported to have said (and what is not in these sources)

In the set of documents you provided, there is no quoted statement from Zohran Mamdani explaining the cause of any 2024 absences; the Times Union story shows leaders declined comment rather than attributing Mamdani’s missed days to a medical, personal, or official reason ^[1]. Other articles in the packet discuss his mayoral campaign, policy positions, and controversies but do not document Mamdani giving reasons for missing Assembly days in 2024 ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}.

3. Official responses and institutional context

The Times Union account records that representatives for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Minority Leader Will Barclay “declined to comment on their members’ absences,” indicating an absence of an institutional explanation from leadership in that reporting ^[1]. The same article also notes that remote-videoconference rules for public bodies remained in force through mid‑2026, suggesting there were mechanisms that might affect how absences play out administratively, but it does not link those rules to Mamdani’s reasons for being absent ^[1].

4. Campaign, profile, and controversy coverage in the packet — relevance to absences

Several other items in the search results cover Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, policy stances, endorsements, and controversies — topics that could explain heightened travel or campaigning but that are not tied, in these sources, to formal explanations for legislative absences ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}. For instance, The New York Times profile discusses Mamdani stepping off the campaign trail for an “important meeting” during the final sprint, but that piece in this set does not assert that campaign duties were the cause of his 2024 absences from the Assembly ^[2].

5. Contradictory or partisan framing in other coverage

Some outlets in your collection frame Mamdani’s candidacy and record through a partisan or advocacy lens — from alarmist warnings about community impacts to critiques of his policing and foreign‑policy statements — but those items do not document official or personal explanations for missed legislative days in 2024 and therefore cannot be taken as evidence explaining attendance ^{[6] [7] [8] [9]}. Where the Times Union provided direct attendance figures, other outlets emphasize campaign fallout, policy disputes, or speculation rather than factual attribution of absence causes ^{[1] [6] [5]}.

6. Bottom line and limitations of the available record

The available sources in your packet show Mamdani had a high absence rate from Assembly sessions in the year covered by the Times Union story and that legislative leaders declined to comment on absences ^[1]. They do not, however, contain Mamdani’s own statements attributing those absences to medical, personal, or official (e.g., campaign-related) reasons; therefore, the factual claim that he cited any specific reason for 2024 absences is not supported by the materials you provided — “not found in current reporting” within this set ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}.

If you want, I can search for additional reporting beyond this packet that might include direct quotes from Mamdani or official explanations for specific absences.