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Mamdani could kick off term by approving a fat pay raise for himself and city officials

November 26, 2025 | | Print Article

One of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s first official acts when he takes office could be to sign off on a healthy pay raise for himself and his friends on the City Council.

The far-left Democrat will be formally sworn in just after the big ball drops in Times Square to usher in the new year, and as soon as he settles into his new digs at City Hall, he’ll find a bill sitting on his desk awaiting his signature to approve the bump in pay for elected officials, more than 16 percent according to the New York Post.

Queens Councilwoman Nantasha Williams is the driving force behind the bill, which would raise the salaries for City Council members from $148,500 to $172,500 and the mayor’s from $258,750 to $300,500.

The initial plan was for the bill to be voted on this month before Mamdani would take office, but it had to be scrapped due to a city law that prevented members of the council from voting for raises during the lame duck period after the election.

According to the New York Post, “The hasty, confused pay push raised eyebrows among many insiders, who gossiped that the City Council was either trying to pull an end run around the incoming mayor or spare him an embarrassing early decision.”

“The only thing is I think they are worried that the mayor-elect won’t do it,” former council member Kalman Yeger told the paper.

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“They are afraid if they pass it in January and he’d have to veto. How does the mayor-elect justify it, saying the working man can’t afford milk? He can’t sign off to give them a $20,000 raise,” the Democratic state assemblyman added.

Mamdani’s pitch that propelled him from a gig as an unknown assemblyman to the mayorship of the nation’s largest city was based on being a champion of the poor, who he would shower with freebies. Enriching himself and other officials before delivering on his campaign promises wouldn’t be a good look.

Among the Ugandan-born socialist’s campaign proposals were free buses, rent freezes, low-cost groceries from city-run stores, and free childcare. It’s hard to see how immediately rewarding political insiders would go over well with his supporters, who are expecting him to deliver relief.

X users shared their thoughts on the proposed pay hikes.

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The bill is co-sponsored by 32 Council members who are putting the rising Democratic Party superstar in a sticky situation after he pledged to address affordability.

The new mayor could veto it or sign off on a law “making New York more affordable for the political class,” a source told the New York Post.

Chris Donaldson
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