Free Republic

She’s the power behind the red curtain. Zohran Mamdani’s secretive, newly named chief of staff, Elle Bisgaard-Church, is a Democratic Socialists of America true believer who convinced the far-left group to back him for mayor and helped craft his “Department of Community Safety,” insiders said. The two 34-year-olds forged similar paths to the heights of New York City political power — cutting their teeth in antiwar and pro-Palestinian college campus activism and toiling in lefty nonprofits before making the leap into state government. “Few have played a more central role in this movement, or in every victory we have achieved...

Shortly before New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, delivered his rousing victory speech to a packed hall in Brooklyn on Tuesday night, one person was singled out for praise: Elle Bisgaard-Church, his 34-year-old chief adviser… It was a fleeting moment in the spotlight for Bisgaard-Church…She rarely speaks in public or gives interviews and, unusually for a New York politico, does not post on X. Yet she has masterminded one of the most improbable, closely-watched and successful campaigns in recent political history, propelling an obscure socialist candidate to the highest office of the most important city in the US. Patrick Gaspard,...