Mondaire-mentum?

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Aug 04, 2023 View in browser   By Jeff Coltin, Nick Reisman, Emily Ngo and Hajah Bah Former Rep. Mondaire Jones. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan is endorsing former Rep. Mondaire Jones for the neighboring 17th Congressional District in New York's lower Hudson Valley, his campaign exclusively told Playbook. Jones is hoping to take on Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in 2024. But first he’s facing a Democratic primary against Liz Whitmer Gereghty, who used to own a novelty shop selling Game of Thrones votive candles, but is best known nationally as the sister of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Gereghty is new to politics: She only serves on the Katonah-Lewisboro school board. But her name has attracted attention, $402,000 in contributions and an endorsement from EMILY’s List. Jones, however, is the establishment pick. He represented a version of the district in 2021 and 2022. He launched with 121 in-district endorsements from state Senators, Assemblymembers, county party chairs and more. And now, he's got his first public endorsement from a member of Congress, too. An insider said it’s a sign of more to come, after the Congressional Black Caucus PAC endorsed Jones last week. “It’s going to be hard to beat Lawler, and consolidating early behind one candidate is the way people think they can win,” said a Democratic consultant active in the Hudson Valley. “It shows New York Democrats are being more functional than usual, and more strategic.” In a statement, Ryan said: “Mondaire is a proven fighter for Hudson Valley families. With our fundamental freedoms under attack and families feeling the pressure of making ends meet, Mondaire is ready to deliver results on day one.” Jones and Ryan briefly served together in Washington, and Jones came to the 18th Congressional District last year to campaign for Ryan in the general election. Ryan has gained prominence in the region after beating back Republican gains in the House in the Hudson Valley and Long Island. Of course, all New York matchups are tentative at this point. The Court of Appeals is expected to hear a case that could result in the Democratic-led Legislature getting another shot at drawing maps more favorable to the party in 2024. Redistricting, to put it simply, screwed Jones in 2022. He felt boxed out of his district by former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney. So he moved to Brooklyn and got third place in an ill-fated primary to Rep. Dan Goldman. Now he’s back living in Westchester County and starting early. Eleven months out from the expected June 2024 primary, Jones shared an internal poll with POLITICO showing an (entirely expected) 35-point lead over Gereghty. HAPPY FRIDAY. WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no immediate schedule. WHERE’S ERIC? Delivering remarks at the 2023 Older Adults Conference at Alfred Lerner Hall at Columbia University, attending a flag-raising ceremony for Bolivia at Bowling Green Park, cutting a ceremonial ribbon at Bati Ethiopian Kitchen's grand opening in Brooklyn, and appearing on Fox 5 New York and AM970’s Radio Night Live. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Outdoor dining has been embraced as a creative solution to address the economic crisis, we have spent the past year negotiating and modifying the bill to be as inclusive and equitable as possible,” said Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez of the new permanent outdoor dining bill passed Thursday.   A NEW PODCAST FROM POLITICO: Our new POLITICO Tech podcast is your daily download on the disruption that technology is bringing to politics and policy around the world. From AI and the metaverse to disinformation and cybersecurity, POLITICO Tech explores how today’s technology is shaping our world — and driving the policy decisions, innovations and industries that will matter tomorrow. SUBSCRIBE AND START LISTENING TODAY.     ABOVE THE FOLD McCarren Park in Brooklyn is expected to be the latest city site to house migrants. | Bebeto Matthews/AP Photo HOUSING MIGRANTS IN PARKS: Migrants could be moved as soon as Friday into McCarren Park and Sunset Park, according to City Hall text message notices sent to Brooklyn officials and reviewed by Playbook. The recreation centers there would be turned into so-called respite centers, each housing about 80 to 100 asylum seekers. The McCarren Park building, which will remain partially open to the public, is being prepared for migrants. The Sunset Park site was in the final stages of assessment as of Thursday. — Emily Ngo WHAT CITY HALL IS READING Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York City Mayor Eric Adams make a heart at a National Night Out event. | Caroline Rubinstein-Willis/Mayoral Photography Office THIS IS GETTING OUT OF HAND: It’s all love between Mayor Eric Adams and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — even as the prosecutor is in the later stages of an investigation into his former city Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich. The pair took a photo with their hands together, forming a heart at an NYPD event on Tuesday. Adams has been making hand hearts with everyone in the last couple weeks, from NYPD Commissioner Eddie Caban and his own brother Bernard, to everyday New Yorkers, and hashtagging it #ShareAHeartNYC. Adams loves a good bit. His mayoral campaign used to pose photos with a carved rock that said “Believe.” And the heart hands are “100 percent from the mayor,” not some internal communications effort, said City Hall Press Secretary Fabien Levy. Was he inspired by Taylor Swift, who popularized the gesture? “I haven’t asked if he’s a Swiftie. But who isn’t a fan of Taylor?” — Jeff Coltin District Attorney’s Investigations Burrow Into Adams’s Circle of Support, by The New York Times’ Jonah E. Bromwich & William K. Rashbaum Migrants cleared from sidewalk of Manhattan's Roosevelt Hotel, by Gothamist’s Arya Sundaram and Arun Venugopal NYC council members urge feds to crack down on ‘ghost car’ fake plates, by New York Post’s Bernadette Hogan, Craig McCarthy, and Emily Crane: “In a letter sent to Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg Thursday, 33 Big Apple pols called on the federal government to enact a slew of reforms to curb the sale of fraudulent plates in other states." WHAT ALBANY'S READING Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s health director hired by CDC, by Times Union’s Rachel Silberstein: “Dr. Howard Zucker, who resigned in 2021 after it was revealed that Cuomo administration officials had manipulated a Department of Health report to downplay nursing home casualties, has been working as the federal agency’s deputy director for global health since January." Former federal prosecutor William Hochul to leave Delaware North after 7 years, by Buffalo News’ Michael Petro & Charlie Spech Stefan Mychajliw since March has been working for GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign. | Francis Chung/POLITICO COMPTROLLING TO CAMPAIGNING: Former Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw could cut a combative streak for the decade he was in office. Now he’s trying to elect someone else: Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Mychajliw since March has been working for Ramaswamy’s campaign, splitting his time doing press between New Hampshire and Ohio. Mychajliw told Playbook that Ramaswamy’s bid will resonate in his native western New York. Voters there have supported atypical candidates in the past, like former President Donald Trump and 2010 gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. “You don’t get any more outsider than Carl Paladino and Donald Trump,” he said. He referred to Ramaswamy multiple times as an outsider candidate while suggesting Trump no longer fits that description. “I think people genuinely appreciate an outsider who can go in and destroy the establishment from the ground up,” he said. “In the same way western New York supported Donald Trump in 2016, they’re hungry for someone without ties to the deep state and the establishment.” — Nick Reisman FROM THE DELEGATION A Progressive Powerhouse’s Surprise Layoffs Fuel Concerns About The Left’s Future, by HuffPost’s Daniel Marans: “Just over six years since its founding... Justice Democrats’ opposition is more organized while its mission is more muddled and its coffers depleted. "Faced with a shortage of funds, the group laid off nine of its 20 staff members in mid-July." AROUND NEW YORK — There’s more evidence of alleged voter fraud by a GOP City Council candidate in Queens. (Queens Chronicle) — A 10-year-old girl nailed a Nassau County executive with a water balloon — and the Yankees invited her to batting practice. (The Washington Post) — MTA officials warn a strict fare evasion crackdown is coming to the city's buses. (Gothamist)   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.     SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Former President Barack Obama … House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) … AP’s Seung Min Kim … Bret Baier … Alex Mallin of ABC … CBS’ Katie Watson … former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin … CNN’s Greg Krieg … Amelia Irvine … Something Major’s Randi Braun … Sinan S. Mahmoud … (was Thursday): Karlie Kloss ... John S. Ruskay ... Mitchell S. Steir ... Josh Greenman (h/ts Jewish Insider) Real Estate Cadence Property cooking up condo development in Hell’s Kitchen, by The Real Deal’s  Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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