De Blasio sets an example as Mamdani thinks about staffing up

Politico

14 hours ago

The former mayor's message was echoed across conversations with six former de Blasio administration officials, who were eager to share advice. Focus on the big jobs first, they counseled, like police commissioner and schools chancellor. Be humble and don't underestimate how sprawling city government is. And for that matter, don't micromanage agencies.
'One of the biggest de Blasio mistakes was he spent a lot of time worrying about the commissioners and what was going on outside the building, and he didn't spend time thinking about how to run his City Hall,' said another former aide who was granted anonymity to speak freely.
Mamdani's campaign declined multiple interview requests, and he has spoken very little about who he'd hire if elected mayor — saying it would be 'premature to make any personnel commitments at this time' at a press conference Thursday.
In a statement, Mamdani campaign spokesperson Lekha Sunder said the candidate has continued to meet with city government officials 'whose leadership he admires' after winning the Democratic primary. 'Zohran knows that the key to be a successful mayor is to build a team of competent, committed and innovative professionals — and looks forward to doing so once he enters office in January.'
Mamdani has shown an interest in looking outside his ideological cohort. After railing against billionaires on the campaign trail, he said he'd consider asking NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a scion of one of the city's richest families, to stay on the job. 'I need not agree with each person I hire on every single issue,' he told The New York Times before the primary
Naturally, power players — many that Mamdani doesn't agree with on every single issue — are already lining up trying to give him advice. Attorney General Letitia James and Partnership for New York City President Kathy Wylde both encouraged Mamdani to keep Tisch, The New York Times reported. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told the Times she'd be leaning on him to hire an administration 'of extraordinary expertise and experience.' And Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn told POLITICO she hopes to make suggestions too.
'I've been around for Eric (Adams), I've been around for Bill de Blasio. So I would definitely like to play a role in recommending people,' she said. The Brooklyn Democratic Party leader, who endorsed Cuomo in the primary, shifted her support to Mamdani for the general election and downplayed political labels.
'Whether you're a socialist, whether you're a centrist, moderate, whatever — people are going to be coming to his City Hall to work on how we're going to make these things affordable,' she said.