Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is calling out New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) for her silence over the latest anti-police move made by far-left Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani, whom Hochul endorsed.
Mamdani recently appointed Alex Vitale to his community safety committee. Vitale, a sociology professor, is the author of “The End of Policing” and has espoused radical anti-police views, such as suggesting all officers and their unions are embedded with “deep racism” and calling for the defunding and abolition of police.
“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,” she added.
Stefanik announced her bid for New York’s next gubernatorial election in November, just days after Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, won the election as New York City’s next mayor with Hochul’s endorsement.
When Hochul endorsed Mamdani, she claimed that Mamdani told her he would maintain all police resources to ensure the safety of New Yorkers was a top priority. Vitale’s appointment seems to fly in the face of that commitment, though Hochul has so far stayed mum.
Back in 2020, Vitale strongly backed the “defund the police” movement and criticized police unions and their members for their supposed “deep racism.”
“They become, in many cities, the locus, the institutional hub, for a whole set of right-wing ‘thin blue line’ politics that believe that policing is not only effective but it’s the most desirable way to solve our problems,” Vitale said. “And embedded in this is a deep racism that says that certain populations can only be managed through constant threats and coercion.”
The professor added that this is the “logic of slavery” and “colonialism,” and activists must “take concrete steps to dismantle their political power.”
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, Vitale’s book, “The End of Policing,” imagines a world in which “modern policing” is broadly replaced by a combination of decriminalization and community empowerment. He argues that policing is designed to reinforce inequality, and that giving police officers diversity training is not enough to bridge the gap.
Vitale has also called for the decriminalization of offenses such as prostitution and drug use, and advocates for private corporations or government programs that would provide permanent housing for the homeless population.
Mamdani himself has espoused radical anti-police views, like calling NYPD officers “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety” and calling for the “wicked & corrupt” department to be defunded and dismantled.
In addition to his controversial Vitale appointment, Mamdani has picked a black nationalist named Lumumba Bandele to serve on a Community Organizing committee. As noted by the New York Post, Bandele previously aligned with Black Liberation Army members convicted of killing police officers in the tristate area.
“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,” the Republican added. “Kathy Hochul must immediately call on Mamdani to fire Lumumba Bandele from his transition team.”
Related: Mamdani Names ‘End Of Policing’ Author Who Called Cops ‘Violence Workers’ To Transition Team