Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani has chosen Sherif Soliman as the new director of the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB), as announced at a recent press conference. A seasoned city government veteran, Soliman brings to the table nearly three decades of experience across various administrations. He served under Mayors Mike Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio, and worked as the chief policy and delivery officer director for outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, as reported by AMNewYork.
In his previous role at the City University of New York (CUNY), Soliman managed to significantly reduce the institution's structural deficit and secured substantial new funding for labor contracts. This financial prowess is expected to be instrumental as he prepares to effectively work with the city's recently revised $118.2 billion budget, a task he is set to inherit from outgoing OMB director Jacques Jaha. Soliman's experience also includes advocacy on behalf of the cities' students, staff, and faculty, ensuring resources necessary for their success, according to CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodríguez in a statement obtained by AMNewYork.
Mamdani's decision aligns with his affordability-driven agenda, aiming to ensure the city budget mirrors his policy priorities. "Budgets are nothing if not a reflection of political choices and political will, and I am eager to make different decisions and to enact an agenda that puts first the many, not just the privileged," Mamdani remarked, as per details by amNewYork.
This sentiment echoes Soliman's own, who emphasized the importance of responsibly advancing the affordability agenda in a statement obtained by NY1.
Soliman's roots in the Pomonok Houses of Queens and his trajectory rising through the ranks of New York's civil service have undeniably made his appointment a symbolic one. Mamdani underscored this, citing how the OMB director's influence extends to schools, parks, and housing. "When a child walks into school and is greeted by a teacher who is paid a salary that means they can afford to live in this city, a school that is well-resourced, that is the mark of an OMB director hard at work," Mamdani said, pointing out the hands-on impact of Soliman's forthcoming role as documented by NY1.
The announcement follows on the heels of other significant appointments by Mamdani, signaling the finalization of his core administrative team before taking office on January 1, 2026. Soliman joins the ranks of newly appointed officials, including labor veteran Jahmila Edwards and Catherine Almonte Da Costa, filling out similarly influential positions and shaping the future trajectory of the Mamdani administration, as detailed in NY1's coverage.
