New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani appointed a veteran budget official to be his first deputy mayor on Monday, tapping a seasoned hand of city and state government to lead operations of City Hall as he embarks on an ambitious agenda.
The appointment of Dean Fuleihan as top deputy gives institutional heft to Mamdani ‘s budding administration, offering insight into how the 34-year-old democratic socialist will pursue a policy slate that skeptics have skewered as financially unrealistic.
Fuleihan, 74, will bring more than four decades of government experience to the job, including past posts as former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s budget director and deputy mayor, as well as an extensive tenure in budget and policy roles in the state Legislature in Albany.
Mamdani also appointed Elle Bisgaard-Church, a top campaign adviser and his chief of staff in the state Assembly, to be his City Hall chief of staff.
At a news conference, Mamdani, who will be city’s youngest mayor in generations when he takes office next year, pledged to “create a new City Hall.” But said he will need both experienced leaders and fresh faces to do so.
“It is important when we are undertaking the work of transforming politics in our city, that we do so both with a relentless imagination as to what politics could be, and a fluency of what politics has been,” he said. “And what I so appreciate about both of those standing next to me is that they have displayed those two skills in spades.”
Mamdani has promised a transformative agenda, proposing free child care, free buses and city-run grocery stores, all while he will be tasked with heading an expansive bureaucracy that includes the country’s largest police department and school system.
As first deputy mayor, Fuleihan is expected to handle a broad set of responsibilities that includes overseeing the city’s budget office and administrative departments. His deep experience in the state Capitol in Albany — which included extensive time as a top adviser to former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and a role as the chamber’s chief budget negotiator— could also prove helpful as many of Mamdani’s proposals require buy-in from state lawmakers and the governor.
Mamdani won the New York City mayoral race last week, capping a stunning ascent for the progressive state lawmaker who ran on restoring power to the working class. Since then, Mamdani has appointed a team of former city and federal officials to lead his transition into City Hall, surrounding himself with an experienced team that included faces from the previous two mayoral administrations.
He has also said he wants to keep the city’s current police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, in that role, though she has declined to say whether she would accept the job.
