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The Houston Police Officers’ Union is encouraging New York Police Department (NYPD) officers who are “disgusted” with the election of Zohran Mamdani as the city’s mayor to join its police department in Texas. “NYPD, are you disgusted with the election of Zohran Mamdani? Join us! The Houston Police Department is hiring police officers!” the union wrote on Facebook. Douglas Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officer’s Union, told Newsweek that the department is short staffed and is recruiting “across the nation.” “There’s a lot things going right here, and any law enforcement officer that just feels deflated by the comments of their mayor, they should come to Houston and give us a shot,” Griffith said. Why It Matters Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa on Tuesday. More than 2 million New York City residents voted in the election, the largest turnout in a mayoral race in more than 50 years, according to the city’s Board of Elections. Mamdani will be the city’s first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian heritage and the first born in Africa. He will also become New York’s youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office. Mamdani has been criticized for comments he made in 2020 in which he said the city should “defund this rogue agency,” in reference to the NYPD. Mamdani has since said that the comment does not represent his current agenda. He has said he will maintain NYPD staffing levels while also creating a “Department of Community Safety” that would deploy mental health care teams to respond to certain calls. Zohran Mamdani speaks after winning the mayoral election on November 4, 2025, in New York City. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) What To Know The Houston Police Officers’ Union lists several benefits to joining its police department, including competitive pay, supportive mayor and city council, supportive governor and lieutenant governor, supportive legislature and “a cop’s chief who is a retired Texas Ranger, not a politician!” In a later post, the union invited commenters to “post the best locations in Houston for New York-style pizza, bagels, cheesecake, hot dogs and street food.” “If you are a realtor in the Houston area, share your best listings for a New York City cop to move down here,” another post by the union read. Griffith said the posts were not approved by the Houston Police Department, but the union knows that they are recruiting across the nation. “We don’t care where we get the bodies from. If we have good, hardworking officers, that’s what we want here in Houston,” he said. Griffith said he believes people will leave the NYPD because of Mamdani’s election. “They don’t want to be in a city where they’re already scrutinized and already vilified, to be even further pushed down on that food chain,” Griffith said. “They want to work for a police department that’s going to appreciate them, going to allow them to do their jobs, and that’s something that we have here in Houston.” “You have a Democrat socialist who has called for defunding the police. He has literally called NYPD officers racist and brutal, and he’s even made comments about them in the Israeli forces. I think that is going to be a morale killer for their department,” Griffith told Newsweek. “We have here in Houston a great Democratic mayor who is pro law enforcement, city council that’s pro law enforcement.” Newsweek reached out to the NYPD and the New York City Police Benevolent Association for comment. What People Are Saying Douglas Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officer’s Union, in comments to Newsweek: “Don’t be in a city that wants to defund you, that doesn’t respect you and your leadership in the city, wanted to reimagine you. Don’t do that. Come on down to Houston, where you’re going to be appreciated and supported.” Zohran Mamdani, on Fox News’ The Story with Martha MacCallum last month: “I’ll apologize to police officers right here, because this is the apology that I’ve been sharing with many rank-and-file officers. And I apologize because of the fact that I’m looking to work with these officers, and I know that these officers, these men and women who serve in the NYPD, they put their lives on the line every single day.” What Happens Next Mamdani takes office on January 1, 2026. This article includes reporting by The Associated Press. Do you have a story that Newsweek should be coverin...
