On October 22, 2025, New York City’s political landscape was jolted by a decisive announcement from Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner in the city’s fiercely contested mayoral race. In a move that surprised some and reassured others, Mamdani declared that, if elected on November 4, he intends to ask Jessica Tisch to remain as police commissioner—a decision that could shape the city’s policing and political future for years to come.
The news, first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by Mamdani himself during the final televised debate before the election, ended months of speculation about who would lead the city’s 50,000-person police department under a Mamdani administration. It also capped off an intense period of behind-the-scenes lobbying by powerful New Yorkers hoping to keep Tisch, a technocrat widely respected for her management skills and reform-minded approach.
"Commissioner Tisch took on a broken status quo, started to deliver accountability, rooting out corruption and reducing crime across the five boroughs," Mamdani said on the debate stage. "I’ve said time and again that my litmus test for that position will be excellence." His remarks underscored a shift from his earlier, more confrontational stance on policing, signaling a pragmatic approach as he seeks to reassure both moderate voters and skeptical police unions.
The 34-year-old assemblyman, known for his democratic socialist views and a history of sharp criticism of the NYPD, has spent the campaign season walking a political tightrope. While Mamdani once labeled the department “racist” and “anti-queer” and advocated for defunding it, he has since distanced himself from those positions. He now emphasizes collaboration and reform, rather than confrontation, and no longer seeks to reduce the department’s headcount. Instead, he’s focused on building a new community safety agency that would take over responsibilities for mental health episodes—an ambitious plan that has drawn both praise and skepticism within law enforcement circles.
Jessica Tisch, 44, is no stranger to controversy or high expectations. Appointed by Mayor Eric Adams in November 2024, she quickly earned a reputation for competence and innovation. Her career began in the Police Department’s counterterrorism bureau in 2008, where she helped develop an app that gave officers real-time updates on emergency calls—a small but telling sign of her technocratic approach. Tisch’s family fortune, estimated at $10 billion, and her high-profile appointments—including a stint leading the city’s Sanitation Department—have made her a fixture in New York’s power circles.
Throughout the campaign, Mamdani has faced relentless attacks from former Governor Andrew Cuomo, now running as an independent, who has painted him as hostile to law enforcement and soft on crime. Police union leaders, too, have voiced deep skepticism, questioning whether Mamdani’s reforms are practical or even desirable. Yet, in a twist, Cuomo has also said he would ask Tisch to stay on if elected—a rare point of agreement between rivals. During Wednesday’s debate, Cuomo openly doubted that Tisch would actually accept the job under Mamdani, injecting yet another layer of intrigue into the race.
Mamdani’s campaign, meanwhile, has been quietly vetting candidates for other key posts, including the critical position of first deputy mayor. Names under consideration include Dan Garodnick, chair of the city’s Planning Commission; Maria Torres-Springer, who served as Adams’s first deputy mayor; and two former deputies from Bill de Blasio’s administration, Dean Fuleihan and Anthony Shorris. These deliberations reflect the high stakes and the balancing act required to assemble a team that can both implement progressive reforms and maintain the city’s complex operations.
Breaking with tradition, Mamdani’s early announcement of his choice for police commissioner is a gamble. Mayors typically wait until after Election Day to unveil high-level appointments, wary of appearing overconfident or alienating key constituencies. But Mamdani, under pressure to be more transparent given his youth and relative inexperience, appears to be betting that openness will reassure voters—and perhaps blunt attacks from the right and left alike.
The decision has drawn a chorus of reactions from across the city’s political spectrum. Business leaders, Governor Kathy Hochul, and New York Attorney General Letitia James have all praised Tisch’s leadership and lauded Mamdani’s willingness to keep her on. Julia Salazar, a democratic socialist state senator and ally of Mamdani, said she trusted his judgment and described the combination of Tisch’s record and the proposed new community safety agency as “a meaningful, positive shift in what policing looks like in our city.”
Yet, not everyone is convinced. William J. Bratton, a storied former NYPD commissioner who returned to lead the department under Mayor Bill de Blasio, voiced strong reservations in a podcast interview released just a day before Mamdani’s announcement. “I think she would have an extraordinarily difficult time working with him if he is elected,” Bratton said. “Based on everything I’ve read about his positions, many of them are totally contradictory to hers. And you can’t have that level of disagreement and be successful.”
Indeed, the ideological gulf between Mamdani and Tisch is hard to ignore. While he has moderated his rhetoric, Mamdani’s platform still includes proposals likely to meet resistance inside the department, such as cutting its enormous overtime budget and disbanding the Strategic Response Group, a unit tasked with handling protests. Tisch, on the other hand, has championed stricter criminal justice laws and is seen as a defender of traditional policing methods, albeit with a modernizing touch.
For Mamdani, the decision to embrace a figure like Tisch before Election Day may be as much about political strategy as policy. By aligning himself with a respected, non-ideological leader, he hopes to broaden his appeal and demonstrate a willingness to work with experts who may not share all his views. At the same time, he’s taken pains to reassure his progressive base—many of whom remain wary of Tisch’s approach to policing—that his administration will deliver real change.
Adding to the sense of inevitability surrounding Mamdani’s campaign, former President Donald Trump has privately told allies that he believes Mamdani is “unbeatable” in the mayoral race, according to Dow Jones & Company. Trump and his team are reportedly convinced that the 34-year-old democratic socialist will defeat both Republican Curtis Sliwa and independent Andrew Cuomo on November 4. That kind of cross-partisan acknowledgment—however backhanded—speaks volumes about the shifting dynamics of New York City politics in 2025.
As Election Day approaches, all eyes are on Mamdani and Tisch—not just as individuals, but as symbols of the city’s ongoing struggle to reconcile calls for reform with the demands of public safety. Whether their partnership will endure, or even begin, remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: New York is poised for a new chapter, with old alliances and fresh ambitions colliding in ways that could reshape the city’s future.
