“Experience does matter, which is why I appointed the person who spent more than 30 years at EMS. You know, the workforce that addresses at least 70% of all calls coming into FDNY?” Mamdani wrote in response to Musk in an X post Saturday.
Mamdani’s remarks came after the tech billionaire condemned the self-proclaimed democratic socialist’s decision to appoint Lillian Bonsignore in a Friday X post.
“People will die because of this. Proven experience matters when lives are at stake,” Musk wrote alongside a clip of Mamdani announcing Bonsignore’s new role.
Last week, Mamdani appointed Bonsignore, a FDNY veteran who helmed Emergency Medical Services Operations before retiring from the department in 2022, as FDNY commissioner. She is the second woman to hold the position and the department’s first openly LGBTQ+ commissioner.
Bonsignore is also the first woman to achieve a 4-star rank in FDNY history, Mamdani said in a separate X post celebrating her new position.