New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is aiming high for his transition fundraising, hoping to garner nearly as much funding as the last two administrations combined.
Mamdani set a $4 million transition fundraising goal in a video released Tuesday.
“We’re still asking for your help because we need to raise $4 million in total so Jan. 1 can be the day we start to deliver, not start to prepare,” he said. “I hope very soon not to have to ask you for money, but until then: I’m asking.”
The socialist said the funds are needed to vet the 50,000 resumes they’ve received, pay the transition staff, and plan his inauguration and policy implementation. He said they’ve raised more than $1 million with an average donation of $77.65 from 12,707 donors in two weeks.
Mamdani poked fun at Mayor Eric Adams’ administration’s transition fundraising, saying that their donation amount was “much lower” than the last administration. Mamdani’s team cited an average donation of $1,219 for Adams.
The Adams transition took in about $2 million total, while former Mayor Bill de Blasio took in more than $2 million. Both relied on large donations.
At Mamdani’s current pace, it appears he can meet the $4 million transition fundraising goal by his Jan. 1 inauguration. The Washington Examiner reached out to Mamdani’s transition team and a spokesperson, but did not receive a response.
Here’s more information about the process.
What can Mamdani’s transition spend the money on?
Most transition teams’ spending revolves around staffing and their inauguration event. It also usually involves putting the pieces together for their incoming administration, which includes setting up some of the infrastructure necessary to do so.
As Mamdani said, they’ll need the money for vetting, staffing, the inauguration event, and to begin to implement his steep policy ideas, like free and fast buses and no-cost childcare.
According to the New York City Campaign Finance Board, candidate expenditures must be “directly related to your transition and/or inauguration into office.”
The finance board cites the following as examples of transition costs: “Seeking and selecting city office staff, temporary office furniture and rent, payroll and consulting fees, phone bills, and seminars related to city government and elected service. Inauguration expenses may include catering, entertainment, payroll, invitations, rental fees, decorations, advertising, transportation, and photography for the single permitted inauguration event.”
How long can they fundraise for the transition?
Mamdani’s transition can fundraise effectively until Jan. 31, 2026, which is when they will no longer be permitted to incur any more expenditures directed at the transition. There are narrow exceptions for donation refunds, costs associated with fundraising to pay liabilities, or responding to an audit of the transition financing.
The transition fundraising committee must be closed by April 30, 2026.
What can be expected from Mamdani’s transition?
The mayor-elect has appointed progressives throughout his transition team. Co-chair and former Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan headlines a group of five women he appointed to the team.
She’s already made waves with her private plans to make consumer goods, like the beer at Yankee Stadium, cheaper. Khan is reportedly searching the city’s laws for avenues to enforce Mamdani’s affordability agenda and lower prices for residents elsewhere like healthcare. She’s also discussing targeting hospitals that bill patients for painkillers available more cheaply at corner drugstores.
Such affordability-focused moves are likely to echo across his administration. Mamdani hired his chief adviser, Elle Bisgaard-Church, to be his chief of staff. The role is one of the most powerful in his government, and she guided Mamdani to success on his affordability agenda. She could mirror the affordability agenda with personnel moves across the administration.
He also hired former de Blasio First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan in the same role. Fuleihan has been praised for his budget chops and for his command ability behind de Blasio. Joe Lhota, the Republican candidate for New York City mayor in 2013, once said Fuleihan had “really good command of everything that is going on” behind de Blasio.
As first deputy mayor, Fuleihan will use decades of government experience to advise Mamdani on budget, policy, and most other decisions.
MAMDANI’S TRANSITION COMMITTEE RAISES OVER $500,000 IN FIRST 30 HOURS, OUTPACING ADAMS AND DE BLASIO
The transition will also see a really big party. Because of COVID-19, Adams had to cancel his 2022 inauguration event set at King’s Theatre in Brooklyn. He did take the oath just after midnight on New Year’s Eve. De Blasio was also sworn in just after midnight on Jan. 1, 2014, but had a lively ceremony at City Hall the same day with a variety of speakers and attendees.
It’s unclear what Mamdani’s plans for an inauguration event are yet.