Midori Valdivia Named TLC Chief, Pledges Driver-First Leadership
Former deputy commissioner nominated to oversee 200,000 taxi and rideshare workers
Mayor Zohran Mamdani nominated Midori Valdivia as the next chair and commissioner of the Taxi and Limousine Commission, positioning the former TLC deputy commissioner as the voice of 200,000 drivers who powered his election victory. The announcement at LaGuardia Airport Tuesday evening drew dozens of yellow cab and app-based taxi drivers, many of them immigrants from South Asia who saw Mamdani's election as a historic shift after decades of government neglect. Valdivia, 42, previously served as TLC deputy commissioner of finance and currently sits on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board. Her nomination requires City Council confirmation. A Long History of Advocacy Mamdani has long championed taxi driver causes, joining drivers on a 15-day hunger strike in 2021 outside City Hall to demand relief from predatory medallion loans that drove some operators to suicide. That effort led to a $475 million debt relief program assisting more than 2,000 drivers. "From City Hall, we will deliver meaningful change in the lives of the working people too often forgotten by our politics, and in the day-to-day existence of the taxi drivers who deserve a forceful champion at the TLC," Mamdani said at the Tuesday announcement. Unfinished Work on Medallion Debt While the medallion relief program represented a breakthrough, work remains unfinished. Over 200 drivers are still stuck with debts because their lenders refused to join the program. Wain Chin, 58, who has driven a yellow taxi for 33 years since immigrating from Myanmar, attended the announcement and remains among those still awaiting relief. His lender offered him a cash settlement to buy out his loan, but he cannot afford it. "We believe that Mamdani can help get us across the finishing line and bring debt relief for drivers like me," Chin said. The TLC has no direct power over private lenders holding medallion debt. Helping remaining drivers will require the Mamdani administration to pressure holdout lenders or broker alternative buyout deals. Worker Dignity at Center Valdivia acknowledged the challenge in her remarks. "A priority of mine will be to center working people in all of our decision-making," she said. "That means drivers will have not just a seat at the table, but they will be a core part of how we think about TLC regulations. What does it mean to build better working conditions for drivers? There are so many small items that are additional burdens drivers shouldn't have to deal with." For Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance representing 28,000 drivers, finishing the debt relief work is just the beginning. Insurance Cooperative and Broader Goals With Mamdani in office and Julie Su serving as deputy mayor for economic justice, Desai sees an opening to push for more ambitious changes. She outlined a plan to organize drivers into an insurance cooperative they would own themselves. Auto insurance costs have been rising for drivers, with some paying $6,000 or more per year. "We believe the solution is to organize the drivers into a cooperative," Desai explained. "If we bring all the drivers together to own their own company, most insurance companies lower their premiums for their members." Erhan Tuncel, 65, a Turkish immigrant driving yellow cabs for 27 years, expressed optimism. "We know we have a brother we can talk to and, more importantly, a mayor who listens," Tuncel said. See resources on labor organizing and worker cooperatives from International Labour Organization for context on worker-owned models worldwide.
