As Inauguration Nears, Mamdani Builds a Team That Blends Experience and Ideology

As he prepares to take office, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced a new appointment on Monday, naming Sam Levine, former director of consumer protection at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as the new commissioner of the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Levine is the second former FTC staff member Mamdani has recruited for the incoming administration. Lina Khan, the FTC chair under Biden, is part of the five-person core transition team Mamdani announced the day after he was elected.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, built his campaign connecting with New Yorkers from working class and immigrant backgrounds and promising to make the city more affordable. As he prepares to take office, he’s assembling a leadership team that blends progressive allies with experienced Democratic operatives, signaling an effort to balance ideological ambition with governing experience.

“[Mamdani] and his colleagues are aware that they have a lot to do,” said Anya Schiffrin, a senior lecturer at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. After a year marked by conflict between the Trump administration and local leaders across the country “local leaders are looking at what they can accomplish,” she said.

Compared with outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, Mamdani is entering office with fewer years in government and a smaller political network. For his five-member core transition team, he tapped five well-connected public figures, including executive director Elana Leopold, who served in multiple roles under former Mayor Bill de Blasio; Maria Torres-Springer, Adams’ former first deputy mayor; nonprofit executive Grace Bonilla; Melanie Hartzog, de Blasio’s former deputy mayor for Health and Human Services; and Khan, known for her aggressive antitrust agenda while at the FTC.

Mamdani also introduced 17 new transition advisory committees on a variety of policy issues last month, dealing with issues such as housing and education. Margaret Groarke, a political science professor at Manhattan University in The Bronx, believes Mamdani is surrounding himself with experienced people. “I think a transition team always shows you how somebody is going to set themselves up to do the job,” she said.

Khan’s background suggests Mamdani is continuing to prioritize affordability at the policy level. As President Joe Biden’s FTC chair, she gained national attention for her antitrust work, including efforts to reduce drug prices by challenging anti-competitive practices among major pharmacy benefit managers such as CVS and UnitedHealth. In November, two weeks after the election, Khan joined striking Starbucks workers on a picket line. According to Schiffrin, “there are many things that can and should be done [in New York] and which her experience could help address,” including reducing monopolies in industries such as mobile food ordering and delivery, which would also incentivize companies such as Uber Eats to create better working conditions for its workers. “Breaking up monopoly power is one way of addressing the affordability crisis and would improve quality of life for all New Yorkers,” Schiffrin said.

During the campaign, Mamdani faced criticism from opponents Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa, who argued his progressive agenda was unrealistic. Lincoln Mitchell, a political analyst and professor of political science at Columbia University, noted de Blasio entered office with similarly ambitious goals a decade ago. “Universal pre-K was as radical as anything Mamdani is trying to achieve,” Mitchell said. Bringing in former de Blasio staffers may help the new mayor with turning progressives ideas into policy. “If you’re the new mayor, that makes sense,” Mitchell said.

Mamdani has yet to announce whether any members of his core transition team will move into permanent roles in his administration. Mitchell believes it’s likely some will. “I think the message is, to the base, ‘I’m serious about this stuff,’” Mitchell said.