What Mamdani's Staffing Choices Say About How He'll Govern

"As part of his first official staffing choices as mayor-elect, Mamdani named 74-year old Albany veteran Dean Fuleihan as his first deputy mayor, a job Fuleihan also held during Bill de Blasio's tenure. Alongside that move, Mamdani announced that his campaign manager Elle Bisgaard-Church would be his chief of staff, the same job she had in his Assembly office."

"This didn't surprise Christina Greer, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University. "I thought it was essentially what he had promised, which will be a mixture of the old guard and the new guard," she said in an interview. "Obviously Dean Fuleihan, who's respected across a wide spectrum, represents the old guard. He's worked in several administrations in different capacities. And then elevating his chief of staff- not just age wise, but experience wise - sort of opening up the door for a new generation of leadership in New York City.""

"Mamdani's appointment of Fuleihan has received widespread praise within the city's political scene due to his decades of experience in both City Hall and the state capitol where a mayor's agenda can either live or die by Albany's hand. His experience as de Blasio's budget director will undoubtedly be valuable, too, since the mayor-elect will soon be tasked with managing a budget larger than some nations' GDPs while also seeking to implement policy initiatives with hefty price tags such as universal child car"

Zohran Mamdani will become the city's youngest mayor in generations after winning on an affordability-centered campaign. He has begun building an administration that mixes veteran operators with younger allies. Mamdani appointed 74-year-old Albany veteran Dean Fuleihan as first deputy mayor and named campaign manager Elle Bisgaard-Church as chief of staff. The choices signal a willingness to rely on Albany experience and institutional relationships to advance a policy agenda. Fuleihan's decades in City Hall and as de Blasio's budget director are positioned to help manage a massive municipal budget. The mayor-elect intends to pursue costly initiatives while engaging a broad political spectrum.

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