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A Florida sheriff has invited NYPD officers and New York residents to abandon the city and move down south, following Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral election victory. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood wrote in a Facebook post shortly after Mamdani’s win that anyone unhappy with the results of the election, would be welcome to move 1,000 miles to his county, between Orlando and Jacksonville. “Let me be the first to invite you into the welcoming arms of Volusia County, FL,” he posted. In particular, he addressed his “NYPD friends” writing: “If you want to come to work in an organization that is cutting edge, innovating every day, a place where you’re appreciated by the community and supported by the elected officials, then check out the Volusia Sheriff's Office and take a look at how we’re getting the job done.” “We are open for business,” he added. “Tonight's election is not the end. It can be the beginning of a new life.” But his message attracted immediate feedback from the local community who were largely unimpressed by his call for New Yorkers to move to the area. “Mike man, we have no more room here,” one replied. “Don’t New York my Florida”, another said. “Did this guy call the Volusia County Sheriff ‘cutting edge’ compared to the NYPD?” asked another person, adding a crying with laughter emoji. Another tactfully suggested Chitwood should wait and see how Mamdani’s term goes before inviting people to leave the city. “While I am grateful for your leadership in VCSO, please allow the newly elected (not even sworn in yet) mayor to get his own city organized before assuming he can’t,” they wrote. In his victory speech, progressive socialist Mamdani said his election had delivered a “mandate for change”. “A mandate for a new kind of politics,” he told supporters. “A mandate for a city we can afford. And a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that.” He also addressed concerns about crime and policing, adding: “Safety and justice will go hand in hand as we work with police officers to reduce crime and create a Department of Community Safety that tackles the mental health crisis and homelessness crises head on. “Excellence will become the expectation across government, not the exception.”
