Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has named Dean Fuleihan, a veteran city budget official and former first deputy mayor under Bill de Blasio, as his top deputy. Mamdani also announced that Elle Bisgaard-Church, his longtime campaign chief, will serve as his chief of staff.
Fuleihan, 74, brings decades of experience in city and state government, having started his career as budget chief for then-State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in the late 1970s. He served as New York City’s budget director beginning in 2013, before becoming de Blasio’s first deputy mayor from 2018 to 2021, during which the city’s budget increased from $72 billion to $85 billion. More recently, Fuleihan has been advising Mamdani behind the scenes.
“The work of government begins here, by ensuring that those we choose to lead it do so with a singular goal: delivering for working New Yorkers,” Mamdani remarked at a press conference. “With Dean Fuleihan as First Deputy Mayor and Elle Bisgaard-Church as Chief of Staff, I have no doubt we will build a powerful and competent administration that delivers an affordable, livable city for working people.”
Bisgaard-Church, who previously served as Mamdani’s chief of staff in the state assembly and managed his primary campaign, was credited for helping shape the mayor-elect’s progressive agenda. Bisgaard-Church reflected on her transition from campaign to governance, expressing her commitment to advancing Mamdani’s affordability agenda and noting the opportunity to show what a “well-run City Hall can do for everyday New Yorkers.”
Mamdani’s administration officially begins in January, and the incoming mayor has indicated that additional appointments, including deputy mayors and agency commissioners, will be announced in the coming weeks.
