Socialist Democratic New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani named his administration’s two top advisers, as he gears up to lead the Big Apple in a decidedly left-wing direction that may cause some residents to bolt.
Mamdani announced his current chief of staff, Elle Bisgaard-Church, a fellow Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member, will stay in the role when he becomes mayor. He also said that his incoming first deputy mayor will be Dean Fuleihan, who served in the same role during former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s second term. The mayor-elect introduced Bisgaard-Church, 34, and Fuleihan, 74, at a Monday press conference where he expressed the need to “transform” the city and deliver on his host of left-wing campaign promises.
A veteran campaign strategist told the Daily Caller News Foundation that he thinks Mamdani’s longtime right-hand woman and the de Blasio-era bureaucrat will “support each other” in the avowed socialist’s plan to remake New York City in his image.
“If you are a radical who is intent on blowing up the system and turning it into a socialist utopia, you need someone that understands the regulations, the laws and the things that are currently on the books that you have to change,” Marc Lotter, the co-host of “Wake Up America” on Newsmax TV who served on President Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns told the DCNF in an interview.
“You just can’t come in and do it. Even if you’re doing it by executive order or working through the council, you’ve got to still know what to change and how to do it. So, you need someone who is a tactician as well as someone who is a fully-fledged partner in the hammer and sickle to make this possible,” Lotter added, referring to a well-known communist symbol.
During the Monday press conference, Mamdani described Bisgaard-Church, who managed his successful June 24 Democratic primary campaign, as “unparalleled.”
“Few have played a more central role in this movement or in every victory we achieved together in the [New York State] Assembly than Elle,” the mayor-elect said.
“The incoming administration offers bold vision combined with determined realism,” Bisgaard-Church said at the same press conference. “We are imaginative in our outlook energized by the work and to work very hard and deeply invested in the future of this great city, because we will be here a long time.”
Mamdani’s team described Bisgaard-Church as the “chief architect” of the mayor-elect’s proposed Department of Community Safety, CBS News reported Monday. The planned department seeks to replace some police officers with “outreach workers” at subway stations across the city.
Although Mamdani has previously advocated for defunding the New York Police Department (NYPD), he suggested at an Oct. 16 mayoral debate that he would not do so if elected mayor. He also said on multiple occasions during the campaign that he plans to keep current NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whom outgoing Mayor Eric Adams appointed in late 2024.
Moments of opportunity like this come along rarely, and with Dean and Elle we’ll seize upon it to usher in a new day for New York. pic.twitter.com/MW9QVKaLmc
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) November 10, 2025
Lotter, who commutes to New York City for work, told the DCNF that the possibility of the Mamdani administration creating the department, among other left-wing policies, is “very concerning.”
“You can look anywhere in the world to see socialism doesn’t work and it’s a failure, and yet it’s now going to be tried as an experiment in the largest population center in the United States of America,” he said. “And what I also think it shows is that those who can leave will. They’re not going to put up with this.”
The campaign veteran suggested that Mamdani’s socialist platform may cause individuals and businesses to flee the city, widely seen as the center of American capitalism and the financial industry.
“You know this, this isn’t, you know, 20, 30, years ago. No one, whether you’re a billionaire, whether you’re a corporation, whether you’re a CEO, has to be here anymore. You can remote in,” Lotter said. “There’s no requirement that you physically be in the city of New York anymore.”
Meet incoming First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan and Chief of Staff Elle Bisgaard-Church.
Together, they will lead the charge in executing our affordability agenda and building an administration defined by competence, boldness and delivering for the people of this city. pic.twitter.com/j99AyOEuhm
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) November 10, 2025
A poll conducted by JL Partners for the Daily Mail in late October found that 9% of New Yorkers said they would “definitely” leave and 25% would “consider” leaving the Big Apple if Mamdani was to win.
Political strategist Adam Weiss told the DCNF Nov. 5, the day after Mamdani’s election, that the socialist’s divisive rhetoric might spark an exodus out of New York.
“I think a few days ago, I was saying, I don’t think people are going anywhere. I think it’s a big talk right now,” Weiss said. “But if he continues this angry Mandani, to not welcome business leaders, in not sitting down with Jewish leaders, not sitting down with Republicans, conservatives … treating residents this way, we have 50 states that people can go to.”
Lotter called Mamdani the “poster child for the failure of” the socialist system.
“You can have a lot of great ideas, but there’s not a lot you can do about it,” he told the DCNF. “And I’m sure he [Mamdani] will do what he can do. But you know, Margaret Thatcher said the problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people’s money.”
“Well, he’s about to find out the realities of that. And I think his young supporters who didn’t like the pricing of beer are about to come up to the harsh reality of the difference between campaign speeches and lofty vision and reality,” Lotter added, referring to the $13 price of Pabst Blue Ribbon beers at Mamdani’s victory party.
“I worked on dozens of campaigns over the course of my career. I can tell you, it’s a lot easier to campaign than it is to govern,” Lotter said. “Campaigning is selling an idea and a few key bumper sticker slogans, but when it comes to actually doing the work and or trying to even deliver on the promises you made on the campaign trail, that’s the hard part.”
(Featured Image Media Credit: Bingjiefu He, CC via Wikimedia Commons)
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