Staunch ‘Defund the Police’ Advocate to Lead Mamdani’s Mayoral Transition Team
“What Mr. Mamdani says when he’s pandering to a crowd, and what he actually hopes to do, I believe, are very different things.”
One of the many things that should have disqualified NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) from public office in the minds of a majority of Big Apple voters was his repeated calls to defund the police.
The Democratic Socialist Party member said it often, whether on social media or in front of crowds of like-minded radical leftist agitators. On the campaign trail – especially after he won the primary, he denied he had any intentions of doing so, but the receipts told a different story:
We can’t reform our way out of a racist police system that’s working exactly as designed – as a means of control over black & brown New Yorkers.
We need to dramatically curtail the power & presence of the NYPD.
$1B in cuts over 4 years is only the first step toward that goal. pic.twitter.com/ihhCjsUmd0
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 1, 2020
We don't need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.
What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD.
But your deal with @NYCMayor uses budget tricks to keep as many cops as possible on the beat.
NO to fake cuts – defund the police. https://t.co/2RCXU8heg2
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 29, 2020
One thing is clear: Zohran Mamdani has called to defund the police over and over. pic.twitter.com/ZykwlhdXl4
— Whitney Tilson (@WhitneyTilson) June 13, 2025
2020. Zohran Mamdani calls for a billion dollar cut to the NYPD budget because according to him "policing is something that does not create safety."
2025 Mamdani: I don't want to defund the police. 😜 pic.twitter.com/kgA3mgaBeO
— MAZE (@mazemoore) October 28, 2025
Even on the morning of the election, he was still trying to suggest he had evolved on the issue, even as those around him on the MSNBC panel, including racial arsonist Al Sharpton, were essentially telling him he should “be more careful” in how he spoke about it — which was code for “keep gaslighting”:
🚨 JUST IN: Zohran Mamdani on MSNBC laughs and says he should have been "more careful" around his tweets calling to DEFUND the Police..
Q: "So, any statements or anything like defunding the police, you obviously don't believe that anymore?"
ZOHRAN: "No, I think I've said that,… pic.twitter.com/xWVFB5IniW
— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) November 4, 2025
In the immediate aftermath of his Election Day victory, Mamdani ripped off the mask in more ways than one, proudly embracing the Socialist label he had distanced himself from as a candidate and then nominee, and declaring that there is no problem too small for the government to step in and handle.
And now, not quite two weeks into his transition from state assemblyman to NYC mayor, we’re learning more about a key member of Mamdani’s transition team, Elana Leopold, who just so happens to be a staunch “defund the police” advocate:
Elana Leopold, executive director of an all-female transition team, was among the more than 230 past and present staffers of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio who signed a June 2020 “open letter” to de Blasio demanding “radical change” on criminal justice policies – especially at the NYPD.
“We are demanding the mayor act immediately to … reduce the NYPD operating budget by $1 billion in Fiscal Year 2021, and reallocate that money to essential social services, including housing support and rental relief, food assistance and health care,” wrote Leopold, a former senior advisor and campaign strategist for de Blasio, and the others.
Mamdani taps ‘Defund the Police’ champion to head team steering his transition to NYC mayor https://t.co/RrkeWP7xeH pic.twitter.com/99rM3BcnnG
— New York Post (@nypost) November 15, 2025
NEW: Elana Leopold – new director of transition for @ZohranKMamdani — says she’s expecting a child and wants her child to be able to enjoy universal childcare when enacted #NBC4NY pic.twitter.com/hGXkAhtfqn
— Andrew Siff (@andrewsiff4NY) November 5, 2025
News that a “defund the police” proponent, one who also advised Mamdani’s general election campaign, would be heading up the transition team for the mayor-elect did not surprise some of Mamdani’s critics, who pointed out that he was good at tailoring his messages to specific audiences to get what he wanted:
Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola said Mamdani’s decision to appoint Leopold to the transition team shows he hasn’t completely abandoned the idea of slashing NYPD spending.
“Am I surprised? Not one bit,” said the Queens Republican. “What Mr. Mamdani says when he’s pandering to a crowd, and what he actually hopes to do, I believe, are very different things.
“We’ve seen him make statements that go from progressive to moderate to almost conservative, depending on who he’s talking to. … Well, we see who his friends are, and they’re the same people who want to dismantle public safety in this city.”
Not surprisingly, Leopold isn’t the only one on Mamdani’s team who thinks this way:
BADGE OF HONOR? Zohran Mamdani taps his longtime advisor, Elle Bisgaard-Church, as his incoming chief of staff. Bisgaard-Church was dubbed the "chief architect" of Mamdani's campaign proposal to have social workers respond to certain non-violent 911 calls in New York City. pic.twitter.com/nxk4KFyCSn
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 11, 2025
Relatedly, there is also this:
NEW from me
Some NYPD officers openly wept after Zohran Mamdani's election victory — hundreds are preparing to leave the force, multiple NYPD cops tell me pic.twitter.com/4PpbKJ2oqX
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) November 12, 2025
Schmear & Wesson: Jewish New Yorkers rushing to buy guns after Mamdani victory https://t.co/8hQpRRoJKh pic.twitter.com/Q2NoIOQgTl
— New York Post (@nypost) November 15, 2025
While 50% of New York City residents who voted chose Mamdani, the other 50% didn’t. I pray things aren’t about to get worse in NYC, but I fear they are.
– Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X.
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Comments
Criminals in NYC are smiling.
I know and work with many wonderful social workers and none of them want to be used to respond to domestic violence and/or crime situations . That is not their training or expertise and it’s a flat out stupid and dangerous idea. I have done police ride alongs as a psychologist and I very much stayed in my lane n those experiences, which was to talk to kids after things had settled and offer families crisis services. That’s about all mental health professionals can do in violent situations; we aren’t professional negotiators or special forces for G-D sake.
Gooder and harder, New York City.
I don’t care.
NYC was stupid enough to elect this clown, they can enjoy what they get.
I’m not going to lift a finger to help them, and will fight furiously if anybody thinks that we should shield them from the consequences of their own actions.
And, when the Democrats retake both houses of Congress, they will send badges and guns to take your money to send to New York.
The reason won’t matter. DemocRats will always send badges and guns to steal, imprison, and injure. It is how Marxists roll.
Well, its fine to be empathetic about what’s likely coming down the pike for NYC. I don’t want to reach a point where I don’t recognize suffering but I’m getting closer in situations like this b/c it is frustratingly futile to try and help the willfully blind see the truth. Truly there are none so blind as those who refuse to see. The bottom line through is nobody is coming to save them from the consequences of their own decisions and no-one has a duty to do so. NYC gonna have to save themselves or pack their crap and move, far and fast.
Leaving a blue city or state might not be the best solutions. Then you end up with a solid blue city or state that will never change because there is no opposition party left. We are about to see that in CA. The redistricting will be the last brick in its wall. It will be locked in as a socialist/communist state. No one left to vote any different. NYC is about to go the same way-and based on population distribution it’s likely to drag the whole state blue. No one left to vote a change.
>NYC was stupid enough to elect this clown, they can enjoy what they get.
Remember, 50% of the voters voted _not_ to elect this clown.
I hope NYC goes up in flames as a warning to everyone of the dangers of ignorant, stupid, do-nothing, socialist un-American clowns like mamdani that promise free everything while failing to deliver anything. Unfortunately his voters won’t learn a thing if they survive the flames.
Does guyjones know you are using all those adjectives?!?
/jk, guy…
He uses different ones.
New Yorkers will have to be put into two camps for those that leave. The Pre-Mamdani and the Post-Mamdani. The former can be …maybe.. welcomed but not the latter.
Huh…
That’s an interesting thesis but crime statistics clearly show that violent crimes are disproportionately committed by *and against* the very black and brown people this man pretends to save.
If he were really interested in reducing crime in New York City, he’d keep the cops and send the criminal minorities to Florida.
Or better yet, let’s elect someone who’s a champion of western and conservative values to lead the city.
A white Catholic guy might not assuage your social Justice guilt complex be he would be perfectly happy allowing everyone to practice their own faith and he’d be sure you were safe on the subways, too.
It’s important to defund the police, who kill vast numbers of black and brown people for no reason — no reason at all.
Other black and brown people don’t want the competition.
I think some readers missed the “sarc.”
Get your popcorn ready…this shit show is gonna be Biblical. You wanted it idiot NY voters. And you are about to get it and get it good. Happy for all the Cops with enough time on the job to get out. Feel bad for the rest of them. City is going to be a hellscape very soon.
Many will be harmed by the smiling communist, they will realize the outcome of saying one thing and doing another.
We need to defend the police, not defund the police.
“declaring that there is no problem too small for the government to step in and handle.”
“Citizen! May I do you a service, sir?”
“Schmear & Wesson”
This phrase was deleted from the headline of the actual online article due to complaints in the comments from Jews who felt offended. It’s good to see the NY Jewish community still has its priorities ordered,
I wonder what they found offensive. Maybe they saw an implication of bribery?! That’s a stretch and a half.
I guess its the references to bagels and shmear but I think it’s funny. Pretty clever actually.
Well obviously that is what was intended. But how is that offensive? That’s why I wonder whether they saw some kind of implication of bribery, but that would be very unlikely.
Well I don’t think this is offensive but I guess some Jews in NY are probably very sensitive right now ? I don’t know.
First. I wonder what the recruiting response for social workers will be in NYC after a few are killed by those they are sent to help?
Second, the only rational response for any free people in New York [city and state] is to get themselves, their families, and their assets out of there asap. There is no miraculous rescue coming.
Third, that rational response includes any emergency services personnel as they are going to be the scapegoats.
Subotai Bahadur
“I pray things aren’t about to get worse in NYC, but I fear they are.”
I don’t give a crap.
The era of the ‘yellow dog’ democrat is back
Yankees leaving NYC: stay the hell out of Texas.
This is not about economics. It’s about Islam on the move. Mamdani has friends with very sharp knives.
Done a great job distracting from the jihadi angle with the Socialist angle. Stealth candidate extraordinaire.
We should do a pool on when the call to prayer is first heard in NYC. Like all over the EU, UK and parts of Michigan.