Mamdani transition rakes in another $1 million

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is now raking in a salary of nearly $260,000 in City Hall, but his fundraising pleas are still paying off. 

Mamdani’s transition committee raised a hefty $1.2 million over the month of December, lifting his total transition fundraising haul to just over $3.8 million. That’s nearly $2 million more than either of his predecessors raised in the first two months of their transitions. 

Mayoral transition funds can be spent on expenses like inauguration costs, office rent and consulting fees. Monthly reports on his transition – and other newly elected city officials’ transitions – will continue to be released through May, but the committees can’t incur new expenses after January 31.

The transition spent a hefty amount in this cycle: more than $1.5 million. About half of that went to staff salaries.  

The filing sheds some light on an internal change in the transition committee following a City Hall appointee’s past antisemitic tweets coming to light. The appointee, Cat Da Costa, resigned just a day after she was named City Hall’s appointments director on Dec. 17, and Mamdani’s team said they were bringing on an outside firm to help with vetting candidates. An opposition research firm, Tappan Research, was paid $25,000 on Dec. 31 for campaign consulting and research consulting. And a consultant named Elizabeth Pena was paid $2,500 for campaign consulting and “vetting consulting” on Dec. 31. A Mamdani spokesperson did not immediately confirm if these were the consultants hired to help with vetting. A representative for Tappan Research also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Da Costa was last paid on Dec. 31, according to the filing. 

Mamdani’s earliest sign of potential success in last year’s Democratic mayoral primary was a blockbuster campaign finance filing, and he was the first candidate to reach the fundraising cap under the city’s matching funds program, built in large part on small-dollar donations. 

His donors to the transition have also included the more wealthy and well-connected. Among his donors in December were Robert Soros, son of billionaire George Soros, actress and supporter Lupita Nyong’o, and the business organization Partnership for New York City.

Mamdani’s average donation size – $121, from nearly 32,000 donors – still reflects a greater small-dollar, grassroots power than either Adams or de Blasio commanded during their transitions. 

A spokesperson for Mamdani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.