You imply that Mamdani can do something here, but what exactly? Does he have the power to revamp New York City's civil service system? If not him, who does? Or are you saying he could draw attention to it in a way that might move the dial?
He would presumably need to get cooperation from the Council and State Legislature to do any kind of civil service reform. It would be a tough slog, and take time and attention away from trying to jump directly to the pudding of his campaign promises (grocery stores, buses, etc). But if anyone could actually sell the public on the importance of this pursuit, it'd have to be somebody like Zohran.
Systemic change that overhauls the examination system will need to happen at the state level and would be driven by the Governor and state legislature (and would require buy-in from the public sector unions, who have historically opposed significant changes to the system).
But in addition to the list above, Mamdani could lobby the Governor, call for support from the unions, and use his bully pulpit to build public support and pressure for reform.
I think literally every day about what the top candidate for my SL Graphic Designer position would have done if I had hired him, with his zero minutes of graphic design experience. Then it would have taken me years to get rid of him!
Perhaps this is a better question for your peers at Vital City - but it seems to me that the statement "Among 3,000-plus standard titles in city government today, not one is for a technology job recognizable to ordinary technologists — no “software engineer,” no “web designer" is not technically true.
If I go to https://cityjobs.nyc.gov/jobs and search up "software engineer", I see plenty of positions. These positions are classified as non-competitive and do not require a test. The Vital City article mentions a cap on "exempt" positions but not for non-competitive ones. What is stopping Mamdani from using non-competitive titles to get around hiring restrictions?
Thanks, this is a great example of ineffective hiring processes and how they hamper government (a corporation with such a process would already be out of business). If Mamdani can use his lack of executive and managerial experience to overcome this system I would be astounded. And thanks for bringing in the Charles Giteau anecdote of the spoils system, the recent Netflix drama ‘Death by Lightning’ brings that story to wonderful light.
Why not simply ignore the rules and hire the people who make sense?
I get that the rules are byzantine and ridiculous, and I'm fully on board with changing them; but if that can't simply be done quickly and easily, the Mayor should simply tell folks to ignore them and he will back anyone who does so for the right reasons and fire or reassign anyone who gets in their way.
Following rules that make no sense is a choice. The voters (correctly) don't care about the rules. They care about the results. The Mayor should make it clear that it's what he cares about it as well and anyone who uses problematic rules as an excuse for not getting things done will no longer be welcome in New York City government.
This is one of the advantages of Federal support services contracts. They're far more nimble than the process for hiring Civil Servants. Of course, support services contracts is a big topic in and of itself.
When my favorite policy wonks cite my favorite political philosophers, I am filled with hope for my country.
You imply that Mamdani can do something here, but what exactly? Does he have the power to revamp New York City's civil service system? If not him, who does? Or are you saying he could draw attention to it in a way that might move the dial?
He would presumably need to get cooperation from the Council and State Legislature to do any kind of civil service reform. It would be a tough slog, and take time and attention away from trying to jump directly to the pudding of his campaign promises (grocery stores, buses, etc). But if anyone could actually sell the public on the importance of this pursuit, it'd have to be somebody like Zohran.
Here's a good list of specific actions that Mamdani can take to improve the system that are mostly within his authority: https://publicsectorjobboard.substack.com/p/what-it-will-take-to-deliver-for
Systemic change that overhauls the examination system will need to happen at the state level and would be driven by the Governor and state legislature (and would require buy-in from the public sector unions, who have historically opposed significant changes to the system).
But in addition to the list above, Mamdani could lobby the Governor, call for support from the unions, and use his bully pulpit to build public support and pressure for reform.
I think literally every day about what the top candidate for my SL Graphic Designer position would have done if I had hired him, with his zero minutes of graphic design experience. Then it would have taken me years to get rid of him!
Perhaps this is a better question for your peers at Vital City - but it seems to me that the statement "Among 3,000-plus standard titles in city government today, not one is for a technology job recognizable to ordinary technologists — no “software engineer,” no “web designer" is not technically true.
If I go to https://cityjobs.nyc.gov/jobs and search up "software engineer", I see plenty of positions. These positions are classified as non-competitive and do not require a test. The Vital City article mentions a cap on "exempt" positions but not for non-competitive ones. What is stopping Mamdani from using non-competitive titles to get around hiring restrictions?
Thanks, this is a great example of ineffective hiring processes and how they hamper government (a corporation with such a process would already be out of business). If Mamdani can use his lack of executive and managerial experience to overcome this system I would be astounded. And thanks for bringing in the Charles Giteau anecdote of the spoils system, the recent Netflix drama ‘Death by Lightning’ brings that story to wonderful light.
I think Mamdani can aim a little higher than famously racist Robert Moses as a role model.
Finally someone explaining why federal job postings are so terrible.
Why not simply ignore the rules and hire the people who make sense?
I get that the rules are byzantine and ridiculous, and I'm fully on board with changing them; but if that can't simply be done quickly and easily, the Mayor should simply tell folks to ignore them and he will back anyone who does so for the right reasons and fire or reassign anyone who gets in their way.
Following rules that make no sense is a choice. The voters (correctly) don't care about the rules. They care about the results. The Mayor should make it clear that it's what he cares about it as well and anyone who uses problematic rules as an excuse for not getting things done will no longer be welcome in New York City government.
This is one of the advantages of Federal support services contracts. They're far more nimble than the process for hiring Civil Servants. Of course, support services contracts is a big topic in and of itself.