Mamdani taps top official from NYC's largest municipal union as his government relations head

Chris Sommerfeldt and Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Dec 17, 2025

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NEW YORK — Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is appointing Jahmila Edwards, a top official in the city’s DC 37 union, as his intergovernmental relations chief, sources familiar with the matter tell the Daily News.

Edwards’ appointment is expected to be announced at a press conference in Brooklyn on Wednesday morning, the sources said. Mamdani, who’s set to be sworn in as the city’s next mayor on Jan. 1, is expected to unveil at least one more top hire for his incoming administration at the Brooklyn appearance.

Spokespeople for Mamdani didn’t immediately return requests for comment and neither did Edwards, who serves as the associate director of DC 37.

DC 37 is the city’s largest public sector union, representing more than 150,000 active city workers employed across the municipal government. As associate director, Edwards has helped oversee the powerful union’s public policy and political operations.

The union was a key supporter of Mamdani during the 2025 mayoral race.

While most powerhouse unions in the city endorsed ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in June’s Democratic mayoral primary, DC 37 took a different route, urging its members to rank Council Speaker Adrienne Adams No. 1 on their ballots and Mamdani in the No. 2 slot. DC 37 then endorsed Mamdani for the Nov.4 general election along with most other public sector unions in the city.

The City Hall post Edwards is expected to be picked for involves spearheading the mayoral administration’s engagements with other levels of government, including city, state and federal legislatures.

Intergovernmental relations are expected to be especially key for Mamdani, whose ambitious agenda is contingent on action from Albany, especially his proposals to make MTA buses free, greatly expand free childcare and increase taxes on corporations and millionaires.

Prior to joining DC 37 in 2015, Edwards worked as the city Department of Education’s intergovernmental affairs head under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio. Before that, she was the deputy chief of staff to de Blasio when he was public advocate.

Edwards is also the district leader for Brooklyn’s District 43, which spans Crown Heights and Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and the founder of Stash Queens, a Brooklyn-based cannabis company, according to her LinkedIn page.

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