One of the few valid criticisms regarding Zohran Mamdani‘s campaign for mayor was the lack of substantial work experience essential for governing a complex city like New York City. As the former SoundCloud rapper prepares to take on the responsibilities of leading America’s most iconic city, keen attention is directed towards his selections for the transition team. His initial choices are intriguing, particularly one individual whose presence could indicate the future trajectory he envisions for New York, despite her own questions surrounding experience. Business Insider has the details:
Former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, known for her regulatory actions that irked numerous corporate executives, has been appointed as a co-chair of Mamdani’s transition team.
“What we witnessed last night was not just New Yorkers electing a new mayor, but a clear repudiation of a political landscape where excessive corporate influence and financial power frequently dictate our political decisions,” Khan articulated in her speech on Wednesday.
To begin with, it is refreshing to see bold signaling! Khan has actively encouraged aspiring young lawyers to focus their energies on antitrust law as a means to champion the rights and interests of the average citizen. However, it is important to acknowledge that Khan has faced criticism for alleged managerial challenges and for pursuing cases that some deemed inadequate during her tenure at the FTC. Nonetheless, the collaborative nature of a transition team can leverage diverse strengths, with notable personalities such as Elana Leopold, Melanie Hartzog, Maria Torres-Springer, and Grace Bonilla joining to compensate for the varying expertise of its members.
Before Mamdani’s impressive victory, influential business leaders, Wall Street financiers, and others who might prioritize concerns like theft over issues such as wage theft, threatened to relocate from New York and even shutter grocery stores if their demands were not met. If a significant exodus of individuals hoarding New York City real estate ultimately leads to increased affordable housing, then so be it! While I suspect that most of these threats to leave were merely bluster (after all, how do you convince a New Yorker that other cities in this country are livable?), Khan’s role in the transition team serves as a cautionary signal to billionaires that they might need to adjust their lifestyles once it becomes more financially accessible for everyday workers to commute.
Ex-FTC Chair Lina Khan Joins Mamdani’s Transition Team, Calling His Victory A Rebuke Of ‘Outsized Corporate Power’ [Business Insider]
Chris Williams took on the roles of social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Before joining the team, he engaged in what could be described as a minor Memelord role within the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He survived his time in Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. A former boatbuilder, he is now learning to swim, and has interests that span critical race theory, philosophy, and humor. He also possesses a passion for cycling, which occasionally irks his friends. You can reach him via email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and connect with him on Twitter at @WritesForRent.
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