Turning to the national progressive movement to round out his senior staff, Mayor Mamdani is tapping a couple of veterans of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign for top communications roles at City Hall.
Anna Bahr, who has served as communications director in Sanders’ U.S. Senate office since 2024, is being hired for the same post in Mamdani’s City Hall, she confirmed to the Daily News late Monday. Before joining Sanders’ government office, she was at Left Flank Strategies, a progressive political consulting firm she helped launch after serving as a national deputy press secretary on the Vermont senator’s 2020 presidential campaign.
“Mayor Mamdani is modeling a different kind of government — not a billionaire-funded, consultant-driven administration, but one that champions the needs of working people,” Bahr said. “It’s what New Yorkers deserve and I’m proud to be part of this team.”
Joe Calvello, another alum of Sanders’ 2020 presidential run, is also coming on board at City Hall as Mamdani’s press secretary, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed. Cavello more recently served as an adviser to Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, a role from which he resigned in 2024 after the senator underwent a political transformation that involved shedding many elements of his progressive persona in favor of adopting more moderate stances.
The hires, which were first reported by the New York Times and expected to be officially announced Tuesday, highlight the ideological alignment of Mamdani and Sanders, both of whom are democratic socialists and see each other as political peers.
Last week, Sanders swore in Mamdani at his public inauguration, and the new mayor has long said he sees the senator as his biggest political inspiration.
In her new role, Bahr will oversee all of the Mamdani administration’s communications strategy.
Calvello will serve as Mamdani’s chief government spokesperson, overseeing City Hall’s press office, with a portfolio focused on national issues, according to sources.
Dora Pekec, a top rep on Mamdani’s campaign, will be the administration’s senior spokeswoman focused on city issues, with several other campaign comms alums, including Lekha Sunder, staying on as well, sources said. Julian Gerson, Mamdani’s campaign speechwriter, is staying on in that role on the government side, too.
Neither Bahr nor Calvello have New York City government experience, according to their resumes, though they both served in senior roles in mayoral offices in Los Angeles and Chicago, respectively.
According to sources familiar with the matter, another person who was under consideration by Mamdani to become his press secretary was Bill Neidhardt, who served in that post under ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio.
