Vincent Schiraldi, the embattled Maryland Department of Juvenile Services secretary who was forced to leave his state post in June, has found a new role working on New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s transition team.
Schiraldi, a progressive reformer whose rehabilitative approach to juvenile justice rattled some state politicians, is listed among the 26 members of Mamdani’s “Criminal Legal System” transition committee. His return to New York comes after his seven-month stint as commissioner of New York City’s Department of Correction under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2021.
Responding to a LinkedIn post listing most of the transition team members last Monday, Schiraldi wrote that he is “honored to [be] part of this prestigious bunch.”
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist who defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Big Apple’s mayoral election this fall, ran an affordability-focused campaign that energized young voters while proposing tax hikes that critics warned could scare off wealthy citizens and lacked the revenue needed to achieve his ambitious policy goals.
Appointed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore in 2023, Schiraldi served for about two and a half years before pressure over a perceived lack of accountability for juvenile offenders led to his downfall. Moore announced Schiraldi’s departure on June 9, later saying that he “ordered” the secretary to resign. Schiraldi wrote in a June 26 Baltimore Sun commentary that he resigned because Maryland perpetuates “human rights abuses” against juvenile offenders by trying them as adults for certain crimes — a policy he argued was racist and “draconian.”
Moore’s office did not immediately respond to The Sun’s request for comment on Schiraldi’s new role.
Schiraldi’s tenure as DJS secretary was highlighted by a wave of juvenile crime despite overall violent crime reductions across Maryland. He faced hearings in which lawmakers pointed to high recidivism rates among youth offenders and assaults against DJS staff members by youths in custody. Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates criticized DJS under Schiraldi for often pursuing the “least restrictive means possible” when punishing juvenile offenders, an approach he argued taught them that criminal behavior was inconsequential.
Others on transition team
While it is not clear what Schiraldi’s exact role on Mamdani’s transition team will be, he will join other progressive-minded, criminal justice advisers.
Mamdani’s transition team includes Brooklyn College sociology professor Alex Vitale, who wrote the 2017 book “The End of Policing.” The book decries so-called “broken windows policing” — which focuses on enforcing minor offenses to deter more serious crime — and argued law enforcement reinforces racism and racial inequalities, according to The New York Post.
The committee also includes Dana Rachlin, who helped create a “police-alternative zone” called the Brownsville Safety Alliance, where community groups tried to address low-level issues without police involvement. Police unions framed the strategy as “dangerous” while Republican mayoral candidate and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa called it “reckless,” according to The Post.
Gun control activist Tamika Mallory, who left her role at the anti-Trump Women’s March organization amid criticism of her association with antisemitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, is also on the committee, The Post reported.
According to The Post, former New York Police Department senior officials such as Rodney Harrison and Hassan Naveed are on the committee. Tom Harris, president of Times Square Alliance and a supporter of outgoing Mayor Eric Adams’ push to forcibly remove people with serious mental health conditions from public spaces, is also a member.
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