New York Mayor Elect Zohran Mamdani Announces All-Female Transition Team

New York Mayor Elect Zohran Mamdani Announces All-Female Transition Team Last night we made history. And today I am proud to stand here as the elected mayor of the greatest city in the world. More than two million New Yorkers voted.

Whether it was the millions who supported this campaign, or those who supported someone else, or those who were too desperate to participate in the political process.

I will work every day to honor the trust I now have. The poetry of the campaign may have ended at 9:00 p.m., but the beautiful work of governing has only just begun.

The hard work of improving New Yorkers’ lives begins now. That process begins with transition. In the months ahead, my team and I will build a City Hall

that delivers on the promises of this campaign. We will create an administration that is capable and compassionate to the unequal divide, that is governed with integrity, and that is willing to work as hard

as the millions of New Yorkers who call this city home. And at the heart of that effort is a transition team defined by the excellence New Yorkers will soon expect from their government.

Our team will be led by Alana Leopold, whose roots in this city stretch back to her grandmother who ran the streetcar on Roosevelt Island. She has been a key part of our campaign to become the city’s next mayor.

The transition will be led by our strong co-chairs: former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lena Khan, former First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres Springer, United Way President and CEO Grace Bonya,

and former Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Melanie Hartzig. In the coming days, we will begin to announce the leaders who will implement our agenda.

People love deputy mayors who oversee all areas of government and commissioners who carry out the important work of city agencies. Some of these names will be familiar to you,

others will not. What will unite them will be a commitment to solving old problems with new solutions. We will cast a wide net. We will speak to organizers on the front lines of the fight to improve our city.

Government veterans with proven track records, policy experts from around the country and the world, and working people who know better than anyone what their neighborhoods need.

Throughout this campaign, I have worked hard to be accessible and transparent with New. It is that same passion that will drive this transition and City Hall

Because New Yorkers deserve government they can trust. And on January 1, as our city celebrates the inauguration of a new administration, let us also celebrate a new era for our city.

One that we all feel invested in and work to make a success of. Now, it is my pleasure to invite Elana Leopold to provide a few words.

Good morning, my name is Elana Leopold and I am very proud to serve as the Executive Director of Mayor-elect Mam Donny’s Leadership Team.

I want to thank Zoron for his confidence in Maybooth on the campaign trail and in the next exciting chapter of this movement. As a third-generation New Yorker who grew up in Mitch Lana Mitch Lama Housing

READ MORE: Zohran Mamdani wins New York mayoral election in 2025

and attended CUNI, I have a deep appreciation for the city’s commitment to this work and a commitment to building on it. I love this city with all my heart

and I am so grateful for the opportunity to help shape its future. I am also expecting a child soon and so I want the future she inherits

to be a possibility and an opportunity. And I want my new family, like so many others, to be able to count on the universal child care that the campaign has built on.

I know from first-hand experience that no one can fight for New Yorkers more than Zeron. He has the vision and drive to lower the cost of living

so that families like mine can afford to live in the city we built.

I can't wait to help shape government for our next mayor and for our builders.

My name is Grace Ba Oh and I am excited to be with you all today. I want to congratulate Mayor-elect Mannion on her story-telling victory and a campaign

that has captured the imagination of the Somalis and centered around the needs of working New Yorkers as a North Star. I am honored to be part of a transition team

and I look forward to working with you to build an administration that will work tirelessly to ensure

that working New Yorkers can finally afford to live and raise the families they love in the city they live in.

As a Queens native and the daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants who has dedicated her career to fighting for the rights of vulnerable New Yorkers,

this meeting means so much to me. Especially at a time when our immigrant communities and the people I serve are under attack. As we stand here today,

1.8 million New York City residents are helpless to feed themselves and their families due to the federal government’s inaction. I am confident that the Mayor-elect will always stand with New Yorkers

and fight against any federal encroachment and will not target the programs our neighbors need to survive. I look forward to helping him do the work that is needed to create an effective government

that keeps every New Yorker safe, healthy, livable, and upholding the greatness of our city and our people. My name is Mel Hartzig. Uh, when I’m upset

no one calls me Melanie except my mom. Um, and I’m so excited to be here with you all today. I want to start by congratulating our Mayor-elect Mandani on an impressive

and amazing campaign and victory last night. In my day job, I will lead New York Founding, one of the city’s largest and oldest social service organizations.

I previously served in two administrations as Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Deputy Commissioner for Administration for Children’s Services, among other roles.

There’s one thing I’ve been reminded of time and again in this job. It all comes down to economics. Paying your rent, putting food on the table, taking care of your kids. New Yorkers care deeply about that.

And it’s one that the mayor-elect has successfully applied. It’s an honor to be a part of the mayoral race and to join this incredible group of women

who are the epitome of public service to ensure that we bring the best, brightest, and most important people to this moment of promise for our fellow New Yorkers.

Thank you so much, everyone. It’s been great to see you all. Oh, I just want to start by congratulating our Mayor-elect, Manion, on an incredible victory and a remarkable campaign last year.

I think what we saw last night was New Yorkers not only electing a new mayor, but clearly rejecting a politics

in which corporate power and money too often dictate our politics and a clear mandate for change, where New Yorkers can move forward and where all workers and small businesses can thrive,

not only that. I think what we saw through the campaign was an operation that demonstrated extraordinary discipline, toughness, talent, and I know Zoron has the vision and the courage to make sure

that we can actually deliver. Oh, it's an honor to be part of his transition team, and I'm excited to work with the co-chairs to ensure that we build an administration that can hit the ground running and deliver for all New Yorkers.

Everyone, my name is Maria Torres Springer, and first of all, I want to congratulate the Mayor on her extraordinary victory last night and on her campaign for the people.

I am thrilled to join her extraordinary women’s transformation team, and to help ensure that

her administration is ready to govern boldly and effectively from day one. As the daughter of immigrants who believed in the promise of this country and as a proud New Yorker who loves this city

and believes in it, I campaigned for mayor in a way that reminded us that housing is our greatest challenge and our greatest hope for our future.

I am so proud of the work I have done over three mayoral administrations to make our city more affordable and more equitable.

This has been my life’s work and I am eager to bring that experience, what was learned, what worked, what didn’t, to help the Mayor-elect deliver a quick, tangible win for New Yorkers.

Despite the challenges we face as a city and a country, the Mayor-elect has truly rekindled something very powerful and a shared New York faith in working people.

Boldly. Most importantly, he and I share an unwavering belief in the ability of government to work for the people.

An incredible belief in the ability of public servants is not just met, not even met. I look forward to helping you build an administration

that will happily and quickly lower costs, build housing, expand child care,

and ensure that every New Yorker can live a life of dignity in the city we all love..