NYC Mayor Mamdani looking to poach City Council finance head, potentially stoking tensions

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Mar 16, 2026

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NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani is considering poaching the New York City Council’s finance division head to be his finance department commissioner, sources familiar with the matter told the Daily News — coming in the midst of budget negotiations between the two sides of City Hall.

Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin have assumed slightly adversarial positions in the first months of their leadership, and swiping her top budget staffer during tense negotiations over the city’s budget could serve to add another layer of stress to the relationship.

The administration has been in talks with the budget official, Richard Lee, to assume the position, sources told the Daily News.

Lee was hired in December 2022, under former Speaker Adrienne Adams, for his current role in which he leads negotiations on the budget for the Council.

That budget process is currently underway, with the City Council is going through lengthy budget hearings on the mayor’s preliminary budget proposal. Mamdani’s executive proposal is due next month.

Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for the mayor, said that “no final decision has been made” about the position.

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

While the mayor and speaker have emphasized their alignment on key issues like childcare, some cracks have emerged in the budget-making process.

The mayor has proposed a $127 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Mamdani, as well as other budget officials and watchdogs, have warned the city is facing a fiscal crisis and multibillion-dollar shortfall. He is eyeing raising property taxes to balance this year’s budget, which would fall under the Department of Finance.

Last week, Mamdani slammed the City Council’s budget forecast analysis, saying it “raises more questions than it answers” and “undermines the city’s ability to function or deliver the services that the city relies on.”

Lee previously mounted an unsuccessful run for City Council himself in 2021, a seat controversial Council member Vickie Paladino ended up winning. He also worked at the Queens borough president’s office.

Jeffrey Shear is currently serving as the department’s acting commissioner.

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