Mamdani hit with ethics complaint over NYPD detail

By Chris Wade
The Center Square

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been hit with an ethics complaint accusing him of violating the rules by using an NYPD security detail to shuttle a left-wing congressional candidate between campaign stops ahead of Tuesday's primary. 

In a letter to New York City Conflicts of Interest Board Executive Director Carolyn Miller, New York City Councilman Phil Wong calls for an investigation into whether Mamdani violated the ethics rules by allowing Darializa Avila Chevalier to use NYPD officers and other city personnel for political purposes.

Chevalier is one of several Mamdani-endorsed far-left congressional candidates who won contested primaries against more moderate Democrats in Tuesday's primary elections. 

Mamdani made a “get out the vote” campaign appearance with the 23-year-old political newcomer on Tuesday as voters flocked to the polls.

But videos posted by bystanders on X Tuesday showed Chevalier and her staff members getting into an SUV after the rally that appeared to be part of the mayor's NYPD security detail, Wong said, which is in violation of city rules that public officials can't use city time, resources or money for political campaign activities. 

"The conduct depicted is not simply an accusation; it appears to show the use of city vehicles and city security personnel in direct support of campaign travel," Wong wrote. "The issue here is not whether a public official may endorse or appear with a candidate, but whether City assets assigned for official public purposes were used to facilitate campaign activity for a federal candidate." 

There was no immediate response from the Mamdani administration to the accusations. 

In his complaint, Wong pointed to a similar ethics violation by then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, alleging that he misspent public campaign funds during his failed run for president. 

An investigation conducted by the Conflict of Interests Board in 2023 concluded that de Blasio had NYPD details accompany him on 31 out-of-state presidential campaign trips, some of which included his family members. 

Last May, the board reached a settlement with the former mayor requiring him to pay back $329,794 for out-of-state travel costs for NYPD officers who accompanied him during campaign trips in 2019. De Blasio previously paid $100,000 as a "down payment" for the settlement, the board said. He was fined $10,000 for the violations.

Wong said the de Blasio case set a precedent "that official security resources may not be repurposed for campaign use" and urged the board to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.