Dean Fuleihan, Mamdani’s incoming first deputy mayor, speaks exclusively about how the mayor-elect will make his agenda a reality.

THE NATION: You mentioned that you started talking with Zohran Mandani before the primary. When did you get interested in his candidacy?

FULEIHAN: I was interested in him from the beginning. He was running a campaign that was certainly [unlike] anything I had seen before. We connected in late winter and started a dialogue that’s been pretty consistent since then. I’ve been helping and advising him—and advising the team.

His courage of conviction, his consistency of conviction, didn’t waver during the primary or after the primary. It is incredible and was more than admirable. From the very beginning, I said to him I would do anything I could to help him in any way that was possible. Now, I’m doing it, and I’m really excited about that opportunity.

THE NATION: I’m interested in your assessment of the most significant challenges the administration is going to face. Where do you see the biggest hurdles?

FULEIHAN: I see it as a whole. I don’t see it as one problem—and sometimes it gets portrayed as that: “Oh, what’s gonna happen with Washington?” “Is Albany gonna be cooperative?”

It’s much more than that. [Mamdani] is so defined on the affordability question, and every New Yorker you talk to knows exactly what that agenda is. We have to deliver that agenda. But we also have to make sure that everything operates; that everybody in New York City feels this is a government that’s making sure that we’re doing the day-to-day things that we’re supposed to do in managing a city. That’s a part of the job that I’m here to make sure happens.

At the same time, while we’re doing that, we have to be thinking about how we achieve that policy agenda. How do we negotiate that policy agenda in New York City and in Albany? And then—and New York is not alone in this—[we have to be looking at] what is happening with the federal government? What are the consequences, with regard to the federal government, for the city of New York, as well as the residents of the city?

So, I see this as many levels that have to be addressed at the same time.… We’re going to be building through this transition to make sure that, when we start, we are doing all those things.

THE NATION: You obviously know state government exceptionally well. Do you think that the relationship that Governor Hochul and the incoming mayor that was built during the late stages of the campaign can actually develop into a strong working relationship where the state backs the city up on critical issues?

FULEIHAN: Yes.

You were very gentle about the de Blasio relationship with Andrew Cuomo [who, as governor, frequently, and sometimes intensely, clashed with the former mayor].

I don’t think there’s any question that this [relationship with Hochul] has gotten off with the right kind of respect. We’re going to be able to work with that and use that. This will not mirror the relationship [with Cuomo], which I think was an unfair relationship on the part of the governor at the time. That is not going to happen here.

[Mamdani and Hochul] have many of the same interests. It’s interesting how much the governor has been out there on universal childcare. She did a tax credit last year in the budget. That sort of gets forgotten, and it shouldn’t be forgotten, because this is an area that she clearly cares about.

So, OK, here we have an area that everybody said, “Oh, it’s too much, it’s too expensive,” and all of a sudden you have the mayor-elect of New York City and the governor of New York State saying we have to do this. This is important. We have to address the problems of the pressures on families. We have to address child poverty.

THE NATION: It must help that the state of New Mexico is implementing universal childcare right now. That’s one example on childcare. But many of the things that Mandani talked about during the campaign are things that have been done elsewhere. So they are realistic initiatives.

FULEIHAN: Yes. Look, we’ve seen this before. With de Blasio, obviously, the very first thing he [set out to do] was universal pre-K, and everybody, everybody said that was not possible. The bureaucracy said it would take five years. The governor said there’s no way—you start with a pilot, and we won’t fund it.

And what happened? We did it in two years, and no one I know, literally no one, says that that wasn’t a good thing, that that wasn’t a positive thing. So government actually can do things quickly, can move quickly. It’s our obligation to make sure that we’re doing that.

THE NATION: But you do have a unique circumstance, however, when you are coming in with a mayor that the president of the United States has been starkly critical of. The president has made threats about withholding federal funds and doing all sorts of other things that could undermine the administration. How do you anticipate maneuvering through that challenge to build a relationship with the federal government?

FULEIHAN: Look, the mayor-elect has been very clear about this. We’re going to defend the rights of New Yorkers. And we’re going to look, in every way possible, [to see] if there’s things we can do with the federal government—he also said he would do that.

We’re gonna work with the governor. We’re not alone in this. We’re gonna ask a lot of those people who represent this city and this state, and we’re going to address it.

But what we’re not gonna do is let [threats from Republicans in DC] stop the commitments that we made, that the mayor-elect made to those who voted for him, and those who did not vote for him but still want this agenda.

THE NATION: So you’ve got 47 years of governing experience. That’s more than a dozen years longer than Zohran Mandani has been alive. What does his decision to choose you as first deputy mayor say? Obviously, there is a respect for experience. And then, also, on your part, there is a respect for the enthusiasm of somebody who is coming in trying to change things. Give me a sense of how we should wrap our heads around the fact that a guy with 47 years of experience is coming in to work for a guy who’s 34 years old?

FULEIHAN: I think you said it in asking the question, right? He is bringing vision, energy, hope, and he’s looking around and saying, I also need experience—but experience to get things done.

I’ll take it as a compliment that, from the very beginning, we talked about how you make government work to get an ambitious agenda done, and there are ways to do that. And, so, I’m attracted to every message that the mayor-elect has articulated, I believe in it, I believe it can be done. We need to make it happen. It’s that important that, at this point in my career, yes, it’s worth doing. It’s an obligation that we should be doing

THE NATION: The mayor-elect identifies as a democratic socialist. How do you identify your ideology, your partisanship?

FULEIHAN: I’m obviously a Democrat. I’ve worked my whole life with [Democrats]. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t feel complete alignment with his agenda. Complete! Whatever you call it.

THE NATION: What drew you to politics in the first place? What brought you to a lifetime of public service?

FULEIHAN: I come from an immigrant family, My father was an immigrant from Lebanon. My mother’s parents were immigrants from Lebanon, and her first language walking into school was Arabic, not English.

They did what we want to hear, right? They struggled, they succeeded. Part of that success was instilling in me, in my brothers, a commitment to public service, and a responsibility to make sure, whatever opportunities we were provided in this country, that other people get the very same opportunities. [Growing up], it was a constant politically active dinner table—always talking about politics and policies both in the US and around the world.

It’s been really a life calling: If you have the ability to have one of these positions [in government], it’s an incredible privilege. It can be hard, sure, but everybody out there is working hard. And the affordability crisis is just magnifying that pressure on them. We have to be able to give back and make that life better.

THE NATION: The announcement of your selection was made at Roosevelt House, where Franklin Delano Roosevelt made some of his transition announcements. That wasn’t a coincidence. It seems to suggest an ambition to do things at the scale that an FDR would have.

FULEIHAN: Absolutely. Look, it’s a wonderful place. It’s a wonderful institution. For me, it’s a wonderful institution because it’s part of the City University of New York, and I have now spent three years at the City University, at the Institute for State and Local Governance. It was a great opportunity for me to thank the leadership at both CUNY and the Institute, and to remind everybody of the importance of that institution to the fabric of New York. It really is part of it. It looks like New York City, it helps New York City, it’s incredible and it’s an amazing institution.

And, yes, being there at the Roosevelt House made multiple statements about the incoming administration.

THE NATION: Which will arrive with an ambitious agenda. And you’re not waiting until [Mamdani’s Inauguration Day] January 1 to get started.

FULEIHAN: I’m in the temporary transition office, and we’re already working.