New York – Mayor-elect De Blasio Appoints Senior Leadership Of Administration

New York – Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio today announced his appointment of his senior leadership team, emphasizing that the incoming administration would be defined by progressive government, competence and diversity.

De Blasio appointed Anthony Shorris as First Deputy Mayor. Shorris will serve as the second-highest ranking official at City Hall, and be charged with managing the day-to-day operation of City government and the provision of core services across the five boroughs. Shorris comes to the post as a proven manager at City agencies, public authorities and private sector institutions.

Dominic Williams will serve as Chief of Staff to Deputy Mayor Shorris, playing a central role in the day-to-day coordination of agency and City Hall operations. He will support the First Deputy Mayor in the development of innovative policies, accountability systems and project management.

De Blasio named Emma Wolfe as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. Wolfe will be charged with working with officials from the City Council to Congress to implement progressive policies that require legislative and executive support. An organizer with deep experience building coalitions across New York State, Wolfe will play a key role in the campaign to pass de Blasio’s signature pre-K and afterschool plan in Albany this session.

“We’ve set out to build a progressive, diverse and effective government for the people of this city. This team exemplifies those values, and each brings incredible depth and experience to the challenges ahead of us. We share a vision for this city that leaves no New Yorker behind and together, we are going to lift up New Yorkers in every neighborhood and every borough,” said Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio.

“We are going to deliver progressive and effective leadership that sets the standard for cities across the country,” said incoming First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris. “The rebirth of this city has been my life’s work, and I know its best days are in front of us. We have waited a long time for this progressive moment, and I am incredibly excited to join our new mayor and this team to take this city in a new direction.”

“Mayor-Elect de Blasio has set a bold and progressive agenda. Our mission is to create a city government that can not only make good on those big ideas, but that can also ensure that the day to day operations are delivered in the most efficient and effective way. Making this government work for and deliver for the people will be our top priority,” said Chief of Staff Dominic Williams.

“The people are behind this agenda, and we are going to turn that support into a political movement that passes stronger living wage and paid sick leave legislation in the Council, secures a tax on the wealthiest New Yorkers in Albany to fund universal pre-K and expanded after-school programs, and fights for an urban agenda in Washington that properly invests in housing, transportation and our fair share of Sandy relief. I am honored to be part of the team that will help deliver on Mayor-elect de Blasio’s progressive vision,” said incoming Political Director Emma Wolfe.

About Anthony Shorris:

Shorris began his service at City Hall in 1978 during the Koch Administration. He served as Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, responsible for the City’s (then) $23 billion revenue budget, $3 billion annual capital program, and all spending on social services, housing and economic development. While at OMB, Shorris served as an architect of the landmark Ten-Year Housing Plan—the largest local housing initiative in the country. As OMB Deputy Director, Shorris dedicated more than $4 billion in City capital funds to the construction and rehabilitation of nearly 200,000 units of affordable housing in arson-ravaged neighborhoods. The massive initiative brought together and coordinated community-based non-profits, private developers, contractors and government agencies. Shorris continued to serve Mayor Koch as Finance Commissioner, leading the fourth largest tax agency in the nation with more than 3,000 employees and responsibility for collecting over $15 billion in City revenues. At Finance, he spearheaded efforts to reduce tax fraud, culminating in some of the largest investigations in city history that recouped significant funds for the City of New York, as well as creating a Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

Shorris returned to City government in 2001, where he served as Deputy Chancellor for Operations at the Department of Education under two chancellors. After the September 11th attacks, Shorris managed the Department’s efforts to provide mental health services, clean up damaged sites and transport relocated students displaced in Lower Manhattan. Shorris helped steer the Department through the difficult budget immediately following the attacks. His education experience led then-Governor Spitzer to turn to him to lead negotiations to settle the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit and create the NYS Contract for Excellence program to increase school aid across the state.

Shorris served both Governors Mario Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. As First Deputy Executive Director from 1991 to 1995, he helped steer the agency through the aftermath of the first World Trade Center attack. Among his chief accomplishments as Executive Director were advancing the development of the World Trade Center site, including strategies to reduce the spiraling costs of the transportation hub; acquiring Stewart Airport in Westchester County in 2007 setting in motion plans for its expansion as the fourth major regional airport; creating new standards for green construction and the agency’s first carbon offset program; developing the first Compstat program for the PAPD; requiring agency contractors to provide health insurance; and breaking the influence of powerful lobbyists whose clients had business with the agency.

Today Shorris is a widely respected leader in healthcare. He currently serves as Senior Vice President, Vice Dean, and Chief of Staff of the NYU Langone Medical Center, one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers. He helped direct the hospital’s successful efforts to recover from Hurricane Sandy, re-opening just nine weeks after the storm. From 1995-2000, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Healthfirst, a nonprofit that he helped launch, offering free and low-cost insurance plans to low income individuals, families, and seniors. A multi-billion dollar company, Healthfirst is one of the largest nonprofit managed healthcare organizations in New York, serving over 900,000 members, and during his tenure Shorris significantly expanded its reach and services to vulnerable New Yorkers. He worked closely with the 1199SEIU National Benefit Fund to create a path-breaking program to provide homecare workers with health insurance.

Shorris has taught and consulted widely. While at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, he led the Policy Research Institute for the Region and taught classes in crisis management, poverty policy and education economics. At NYU Wagner, he led the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and taught classes on both management and transportation as a lever for social change. He has taught and lectured overseas in Italy, East Europe, and the Middle East. Today, he is a board member of the Regional Plan Association and co-chair of the Fourth Regional Plan, an advisory board member of the Independent Budget Office, as well as a board member of the Healthcare Association of New York State. In the past, he has served as board chair of the Center for Employment Opportunities and the Coro Foundation-New York, as well as a board member of the University Settlement House.

About Dominic Williams:

Dominic Williams rejoined the Office of Public Advocate Bill de Blasio as Chief of Staff in 2012, having previously served the Office as Senior Policy Advisor. As Chief of Staff, Williams managed operations at the City’s top watchdog and overseeing the development of key housing, health care and economic development policies. During the 2012 presidential election, Williams served as Associate Policy Director for State and Local Issues for President Barack Obama’s campaign. Prior to joining government, he developed pension strategies with the Service Employees International Union. The son of Caribbean immigrants, Williams grew up in East Flatbush, Brooklyn and earned a degree in Philosophy from Princeton University.

About Emma Wolfe:

Emma Wolfe most recently served as the Deputy Campaign Manager and Political Director for Bill de Blasio’s mayoral campaign, overseeing the building of a victorious citywide coalition that spanned all five boroughs. Wolfe previously served de Blasio as Chief of Staff for the Office of the Public Advocate, reorganizing the office into an effective agency watchdog with an emphasis on community organizing. She has worked as an organizing and field director for the New York State Senate, Working Families Party and 1199 SEIU. She has played a key role in progressive electoral victories across New York, including the election of a Democratic majority in the State Senate in 2008 and Bill de Blasio’s 2009 victory as Public Advocate. She holds a degree in Urban Studies and Sociology from Barnard College at Columbia University.