New York City, New York: Deal Keeps Linda Tigani at the Racial Equity Commission Until Next July After Mamdani Move to Replace Her Fails

Mayor Zohran Mamdani tried this week to replace Linda Tigani, the head of the city's Commission on Racial Equity, and the move failed after a sharp backlash at City Hall. By Wednesday evening the mayor and the City Council had struck a tentative deal: Tigani stays in the job until next July, and the council stays open to vetting his pick for the role.

Mamdani sent a letter to the City Council this week asking lawmakers to sign off on replacing Tigani with Christopher Alexander. The request was first reported by The New York Times, and the New York Post reported the details of the letter and the reaction on Wednesday, October 28. The Post identified Alexander as executive director of the New York NAACP. Alexander previously resigned after leading the rollout of New York's legal cannabis program under Governor Kathy Hochul, a rollout widely described as botched.

Why Tigani clashed with the mayor

The Commission on Racial Equity was formed in 2022 after a ballot measure. It is tasked with studying reparations, addressing inequality in the city and issuing a formal report on its findings. The commission is meant to work independently of the mayor.

Mamdani and Tigani clashed early in his tenure, the Post reported, after the administration edited her commission's draft report to remove references to racial inequity and took out all mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion. The edits were made to avoid drawing the attention of the Trump administration, which has been cracking down on DEI policies across the country. Tigani criticized the administration in public, including at a rally for the Racial Equity Plan in April.

One insider told the Post that the mayor wanted to put the commission under his thumb because she criticized him, and that officials cannot retaliate against someone for criticizing an administration.

Wednesday's rally on the City Hall steps

On Wednesday afternoon, Tigani led a rally of lawmakers and community members on the City Hall steps, with the group fighting to keep her in the post.

"The only people that are holding the line in this decision are the black and Latino Asian Caucus and Speaker Julie Menin," Tigani said. "Speaker Menin understands that a removal of me in this moment is actually undermining the independence of the commission."

Demonstrators accused the mayor of putting up token figures during his campaign while delivering little for the community, and the mayor had already been criticized early in his tenure for not appointing any black deputy mayors. Council member Farah Louis said replacing Tigani "risks delaying and derailing a process that black New Yorkers have waited generations to see."

The mayor's answer and the deal

Asked about the fight at a news conference on Wednesday, Mamdani said Tigani had served a full three-year term that has now come to an end. He said "we all owe her a debt of gratitude" for advancing racial equity in the city.

"Alongside the City Council, we have agreed to extend her term to next summer, and we're excited to work with that same council to put forward Christopher Alexander as the next Commissioner," Mamdani said.

The tentative deal leaves Tigani in charge of the commission through next July, while the council considers Alexander. The fight has put the commission's independence, and the mayor's handling of the reparations study the voters ordered in 2022, at the center of City Hall politics for the months ahead.