Retired NYPD chief John Chell pledges highest police pay if elected mayor

Retired NYPD Chief of Department John Chell entered the 2029 New York City mayoral contest as an Independent, vowing to make the police the highest-paid force in the United States. He proposes expanding the NYPD workforce from its current level of about 35,000 toward roughly 40,000 officers and instituting regular physical-fitness tests for every rank based on age. Beyond public safety, Chell intends to cut municipal waste, reform the city’s deteriorating public-housing system, and oppose Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pied-a-terre tax, which he calls pandering.

He highlighted community-oriented activities he led in Brooklyn precincts, suggesting a softer side not widely reported. Chell frames himself as a “wild card” outsider who will not conform to party expectations, aiming to attract voters seeking change.