New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has a new acronym, and it sounds awfully familiar.

On May 28, 2026, the Mayor’s Office announced the Commission on Government Efficiency (COGE), a Charter Revision Commission the city claims will make government work better for New Yorkers.

A democratic socialist mayor selling “government efficiency” is the kind of thing that writes itself.

Mamdani insists COGE is not a play on the federal Department of Government Efficiency that Elon Musk ran early in President Trump’s second administration. He went out of his way to criticize Musk, arguing that Musk used the public’s desire for efficiency as a “justification” to cut services.

The mayor first moved to eliminate former Mayor Eric Adams’ Charter Revision Commission, calling it a relic of the prior administration, before establishing his own panel in its place.

The NYC Mayor’s Office outlined the commission’s structure and timeline in its official announcement. COGE is described as a Charter Revision Commission that will review the entire New York City Charter, gather public input, and issue proposals to amend the charter. The panel is tasked with examining efficiency, modernizing government, agency authority, enforcement tools, flexibility for city agencies, savings practices, reserve practices, and budget practices.

The process includes 10 public hearings across all five boroughs before proposals are sent to voters on the November ballot.

The announcement identifies Patrick Gaspard as chair and Ann Cheng as Mamdani’s proposed executive director. The first public meeting is scheduled for June 4 at 5 p.m., with the first public hearing on June 9 at 5 p.m. Gaspard’s background includes roles at the Center for American Progress, the Democratic National Committee, the Open Society Foundation, and the Obama administration.

Gaspard’s resume lists his previous positions: president of the Center for American Progress, executive director of the Democratic National Committee, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa, president of the Open Society Foundation, and executive vice president of 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers East.

The Open Society Foundation is George Soros’ operation. The DNC is the DNC.

This is a political resume, not a band of neutral budget hawks looking for waste.

Mamdani also proposed Ann Cheng as executive director.

The launch has raised concerns about the commission’s political leanings. Some good-government groups warn that the 16-member panel—comprising close allies of Mamdani with backgrounds in business, housing, government accountability, city politics, and the city power structure—is designed to rewrite New York City government rules before voters get a chance to decide.

Critics note the commission’s compressed timeline for proposals and its composition. A short window for getting charter amendments on the November ballot, combined with a panel of political allies, has led some to describe this effort as a machine rather than a watchdog.

Musk’s federal Department of Government Efficiency targeted spending and bureaucracy for taxpayers. Mamdani’s COGE puts a Soros and DNC veteran in charge of rewriting New York City government rules before voters get the chance to vote.