How many people can say they've worked for an NYC mayoral administration in the 21st Century?
You definitely wouldn't hire anyone from Giuliani's or Eric Adams' administration. That leaves Bloomberg and de Blasio. Mamdani made no secret about the fact he believed that de Blasio was the best mayor in his relatively short lifetime, so it's not that crazy to see de Blasio alums on the transition team. He's a mayor who has actually frozen the rent before, after all.
Bonilla is one of those people who made a career out of serving vulnerable communities and was hired by Bloomberg to do woke DEI stuff, and she's someone de Blasio kept on for more woke DEI stuff. If Mamdani wants to supercharge public service to lower-income New Yorkers, it would be hard to think of someone with a better resume.
Are there other candidates who could serve on the transition team? Possibly, but if they haven't worked for de Blasio, they aren't going to have as much experience doing this specific job in that specific place. NYC Mayor's office is a blueblood P4 program. Success and experience at a G5 or a lower-level P4 might not necessarily translate to success at the blueblood.
I think these are all good hires. Especially Lina Khan.