Meet the advisers who will shape Mamdani’s administration
The New York City mayor-elect is relying on the advice of longtime socialist loyalists and City Hall veterans to lay the groundwork for his agenda
Zohran Mamdani, who just swept to victory in the New York City mayoral race, already faces his next big challenge: making the right hires without alienating loyalists or further antagonizing skeptics.
Local business leaders—wary of the 34-year-old state assemblyman’s thin resume and short political career—fear he will choose young progressives with limited experience for top roles. Meanwhile, Mamdani’s core supporters are pressuring him to staff his administration with people who share his socialist values.
Mamdani’s inner circle includes a mix of longtime advisers with ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, along with City Hall veterans. He has signaled that he will hire additional seasoned hands, including an offer to retain New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch. He has also shown a willingness to court controversy, notably with his pick of antitrust crusader Lina Khan to help lead his transition team.
Here’s a look at the people closest to the mayor-elect and some of the players in line for key roles in his administration.
Inner circle
Elle Bisgaard-Church, campaign manager
Bisgaard-Church had never run a political campaign before signing up to coordinate Mamdani’s mayoral run. The campaign’s success has solidified her as Mamdani’s closest adviser. She is leading the transition-team effort and is expected to serve as Mamdani’s chief of staff or in a similar high-profile position. She previously helped run his state assembly office. Bisgaard-Church is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and was instrumental in persuading the group’s leaders to back Mamdani’s run for City Hall.
Rama Duwaji, wife and artist
Duwaji and Mamdani were married earlier this year after the two met on the dating app Hinge. The 28-year-old Syrian-American is an illustrator who uses her Instagram account to push for Palestinian rights and showcase her artwork to her 1 million followers. While she largely stayed out of the spotlight during the mayoral race, she accompanied her husband to vote and joined him on stage after his victory speech. Mamdani had his first conversation about running for mayor with Duwaji. She has advised him on important decisions throughout the mayoral race and played a key role with the campaign’s branding and visuals.
Morris Katz, political strategist and senior adviser
Katz helped make some of the campaign ads that were key in connecting with young voters. He has advised other political outsiders, including Dan Osborn, a union leader, who nearly toppled incumbent Nebraska Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in a race last year.
Patrick Gaspard, informal adviser
A former top aide to President Barack Obama, Gaspard has known Mamdani for more than a decade and served as a close informal adviser to him during the campaign. As a former executive director of the Democratic National Committee, Gaspard has acted as a bridge between Mamdani and the party’s political establishment. He also brings institutional knowledge about City Hall because he advised two former progressive mayors, Bill de Blasio and David Dinkins.
Zara Rahim and Dora Pekec, key personnel
Rahim, who previously handled communications for Hillary Clinton and Vogue magazine, serves as an adviser to Mamdani. Pekec, who previously worked for a rival’s mayoral primary campaign, is now the spokeswoman for the transition team. Both women also worked on Mamdani’s mayoral campaign.
Transition team
Lina Khan, transition-team leader
The chair of the Federal Trade Commission under President Joe Biden, Khan is serving as a leader of Mamdani’s transition team. Khan gained a reputation as a trustbusting crusader under Biden before stepping down earlier this year. She sought to use the commission’s enforcement authority in ways not seen in decades, leading to clashes with big business.
Elana Leopold, Grace Bonilla, Melanie Hartzog and Maria Torres-Springer, transition team leaders
The four women were named as the heads of Mamdani’s transition team the day after his election victory. They have each served in one or more of the past three mayoral administrations. Their appointments signaled Mamdani will pursue prospective staffers who have deep experience in running city government.
City Hall veterans
Jessica Tisch, police commissioner
A Harvard University graduate whose family controls the conglomerate Loews Corp., Tisch became the police Department commissioner late last year. She has been credited with driving down crime. While she and Mamdani hold opposing views on some criminal-justice issues, he has said he would like to keep her in the post in his administration. That was seen as an olive branch to the business community and the police force, but Tisch hasn’t said if she will accept the offer.
Daniel Garodnick, current chair of City Planning Commission
Garodnick has received high praise from progressives and business-focused moderates for his work in government, including as current head of the City Planning Commission. The onetime city councilmember is considered a strong candidate for a role in Mamdani’s administration. Last year, Garodnick helped champion broad zoning changes aimed at reducing barriers to building housing in the city. Mamdani has pledged to build more affordable housing to alleviate high rents.
Key connections
Gustavo Gordillo and Grace Mausser, co-chairs of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America
The local socialist organization played an important role in Mamdani’s mayoral run and will seek to have a voice in his new administration.
Write to James Fanelli at james.fanelli@wsj.com
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