Damage control spending reveals vetting failures in appointing
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral transition team paid a public relations consulting firm twenty-five thousand dollars on the final day of 2025, records reveal, as the emerging administration worked to contain fallout from one of its highest-profile appointment failures. The payment to Tappan Research for campaign consulting and research came immediately after transition team director Catherine Almonte Da Costa resigned amid revelations of decade-old antisemitic and anti-police social media posts. Da Costa had been appointed just one day prior to her resignation on December 18 as Mamdani’s incoming City Hall director of appointmentsthe very position responsible for vetting future appointees. The discovery of her past social media posts describing Jewish people as money hungry and NYPD officers as piggies exposed serious gaps in the transition team’s vetting process. This was not a minor appointment but a critical leadership position overseeing the entire personnel selection apparatus for city government.
Transition Team Response: Outsourcing Expertise
The transition team initially relied on Ali Najmi to oversee vetting before Da Costa’s hiring failure exposed the inadequacy of that approach. Following her rapid departure, the team abandoned internal vetting in favor of hiring outside professional consulting firms. Najmi was subsequently appointed chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, which helps select judges for family, civil, and criminal courts.
Pattern of Controversial Appointments Continues
The Da Costa crisis was quickly followed by additional controversy surrounding the appointment of Cea Weaver to head the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. Weaver, a fellow Democratic Socialists of America member, had posted about homeownership constituting a weapon of white supremacy and expressed desire to impoverish the white middle class. When questioned about her controversial posts, Weaver characterized them as regretful, and Mamdani stood behind the appointment despite the controversy.
Significant Fundraising for Transition Operations
Overall transition records revealed that Mamdani’s transition team raised nearly four million dollars and spent just under three million, leaving approximately eight hundred forty-five thousand dollars available for ongoing operations. The fund received maximum contributions of thirty-seven hundred dollars from prominent donors including fashion designer Steven Madden and Robert Soros.
