Lis Smith

So, but Mamdani went out and said,

you know what?

I regret those statements.

They don't reflect my views now.

And guess what?

I'm going to keep Jessica Tisch as police commissioner, which I think was the best decision he made.

And he was able to effectively neutralize it by saying, I said dumb things.

I don't believe them now.

Did it piss off some people in his coalition?

Yeah.

But they're more willing to go with him because he still was the most progressive person in that race.

And by that time, no one in that mayoral primary is running on defund the police.

Like everyone sort of understood.

Right.

But with, so with James, he's been smart to say, I said dumb things and wish I hadn't said them and moving on.

And not only that, he is, I think, making a very concerted effort right now.

And you and I talked about this before.

Is he like actually a moderate or is he just aesthetically a moderate?

And we're seeing a few areas where he is like breaking more with democratic orthodoxy on oil and gas, saying that Democrats have been too hostile to oil and gas and that oil and gas is lifeblood for a lot of communities in Texas.

That is, you know, a few years ago would have been a heretical thing to say.