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Several months into his administration, New York City socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani is taking a page from Elon Musk’s book by launching a city Commission on Government Efficiency, or “COGE.”
Mamdani’s commission, however, will be staffed by a group of progressives and Democrats, including a George Soros-aligned chair, according to a statement from New York City.
The mayor said on Thursday that the commission “will find ways for our city to work smarter, faster, and more effectively for working people.” He emphasized that “New Yorkers deserve a city government as careful with their money as they are.”
A statement by the city said COGE will be chaired by Patrick Gaspard, a longtime Democratic operative who formerly worked as executive director of the Democratic National Committee and president of the Soros family’s Open Society Foundation.
New York City socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani is launching an Elon Musk-style government efficiency commission called “COGE.” (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Johannes Neudecker/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The statement said Mamdani has charged the commission with reviewing the “entire New York City Charter” to determine ways to “better support public excellence by improving efficiency, modernizing city government and ensuring government keeps pace with New Yorkers’ needs.”
According to the statement, COGE is expected to remove “outdated bureaucratic barriers that slow infrastructure projects and delay services”; equip city agencies with the authority, enforcement tools and flexibility they need to deliver programs effectively; and modernize government to improve efficiency and savings, reserve and budget practices.
The commission will also hold 10 public hearings across New York’s five boroughs, after which proposals will be brought to voters through the upcoming November ballot.
Mamdani emphasized in the statement that “for too long, bureaucracy has stood in the way of delivering the housing, transit, child care and public services our city needs.” He added that “restoring faith in government starts with proving government can actually deliver.”
This comes after Mamdani met with current Open Society Foundation board chair Alex Soros, George Soros’ son, at his Manhattan residence.
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Alex Soros, son of billionaire megadonor George Soros, congratulates Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on his New York City election victory. (Fox News)
The city wrote on X that it is “excited” to work with Gaspard on the commission.
Gaspard, who chaired the Open Society Foundation between 2017 and 2020 and previously served as a senior advisor to former president Barack Obama, said that “New Yorkers deserve and need a government of the possible — one that can urgently build infrastructure, promote small business growth, and make the city more livable with accessible childcare and affordable groceries.”
Gaspard added, “I am grateful to Mayor Mamdani for the opportunity to chair this commission, and I look forward to listening to New Yorkers to develop the charter for the 21st century government we need.”
In an Open Society Foundation statement announcing his departure in 2020, Gaspard called it a “profound honor” to lead the Soros-linked organization. He wrote that “fundamental social change doesn’t customarily occur in a revolutionary moment. Instead, what is needed is the partnership of activists, government, and the nonprofit sector, collaborating over time and space in unity and solidarity.”
“This is what I worked to do at Open Society,” he said, adding, “My commitment now will be to re-enter the world of politics and ideas, where I can continue the struggle against oppression everywhere.”
According to the city, the commission will also include Susan Kang, a member of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and author of the book “Human Rights and Labor Solidarity: Trade Unions in the Global Economy.”
Theodore Moore, executive director of ALIGN, a progressive advocacy organization, where the city said he has focused on “setting the organization’s strategic vision for worker power and climate justice.”
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Then New York City Council member Joe Borelli, a Republican from Staten Island, speaks outside City Hall during a press conference and rally supporting the Christopher Columbus statue in Manhattan on Aug. 24, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Besides them, there were several other activists and community leaders, most of whom are associated with the Democratic Party in various forms. Notably absent from the commission, however, were any New York Republicans.
Joe Borelli, a former Republican New York City councilmember who has long advocated for city government reform, responded to COGE’s launch by commenting on X, “How haven’t I been appointed to this already, @ZohranKMamdani?”
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Borelli told Fox News Digital that “as the new mayor and his team are taking socialist governance out for its American test drive, they are realizing that there needs to be a constant source of revenue to pay for all.”
“Ironically,” he continued, “they are coming to see that it’s big government that stands in the way of most economic growth.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office, the Open Society Foundation, Gaspard, Moore and Kang for comment.
