Stefanik Blasts Hochul, Mamdani Over Appointment of Anti-Police Radical

Rep. Elise Stefanik is calling out New York Governor Kathy Hochul for her silence following Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s decision to appoint radical anti-police activist Alex Vitale to his transition team. Stefanik, a rising GOP figure and declared 2026 gubernatorial candidate, says Hochul is complicit in Mamdani’s “nightmare vision” for New York.

Vitale, a sociology professor and author of The End of Policing, has long argued for the abolition of police departments and has claimed that law enforcement is inherently racist. He is now part of Mamdani’s Community Safety Committee, where he is expected to help shape public safety policy in the nation’s largest city.

“Kathy Hochul must condemn Zohran Mamdani’s appointment of Alex Vitale to his transition advisory committee,” Stefanik told The Daily Wire. “Vitale is a radical police abolitionist who will destroy New York if he gets his way.”

Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, has made no secret of his disdain for the NYPD. He has previously referred to the department as “wicked & corrupt” and said its officers are “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.” His campaign platform included calls to defund and ultimately dismantle the NYPD.

Stefanik was quick to point out that Governor Hochul had endorsed Mamdani despite those extreme views. At the time, Hochul claimed Mamdani had assured her he would maintain police resources. Vitale’s appointment appears to directly contradict that promise, yet Hochul has so far declined to comment.

Vitale’s record is as incendiary as it is well-documented. He has compared modern policing to colonialism and slavery, claimed police unions are breeding grounds for racism, and argued that “activists must take concrete steps to dismantle their political power.” His book promotes a vision of society with decriminalized drug use and prostitution, government-funded housing, and community-led safety measures replacing law enforcement.

Adding to the firestorm, Mamdani also appointed Lumumba Bandele — a black nationalist with past ties to convicted cop killers in the Black Liberation Army — to his Community Organizing Committee. The New York Post has reported on Bandele’s long history of supporting extremists, including those responsible for deadly attacks on police in New York and New Jersey.

“Kathy Hochul’s endorsed Mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, just picked a man who supports the killers of cops in New York and New Jersey to serve on his transition team,” Stefanik said. “Mamdani’s vision for New York is getting very clear and it’s starting to look like a nightmare.”

Stefanik is now demanding that Hochul call on Mamdani to immediately remove both Vitale and Bandele from his team. With crime still a top concern for many New Yorkers, Stefanik’s warnings underscore the deepening divide between the state’s progressive leadership and law-and-order conservatives determined to take back control in 2026.