New York is facing a crisis of affordability, displacement, and distrust in public systems. I believe that well-designed government services are one of the most powerful tools we have to restore dignity and opportunity.
I am applying to Zohran Mamdani's transition team because I want to help build the digital and administrative infrastructure that allows New Yorkers to actually access the protections and benefits that already exist.
When government websites fail or processes are unclear, people understandably lose faith in public institutions. A city that wants to help its residents must make its services usable. I want to help build that trust by fixing the underlying systems.
I deeply believe what Jennifer Pahlka writes in Recoding America: that people lose trust in government when the systems meant to help them are confusing, punitive, or impossible to navigate. As she put it: "There is research that shows that people who engage with means tested benefits that are really, really burdensome and sort of insulting, vote at lower rates. We can't really afford that if we're going to avert electing an authoritarian leader. We have to engage the population again, bring them along. That's really a threat to our democracy when our services don't treat people with respect."
I want to work on the team that fixes problems like this.