Politics

Inside Mamdani aide’s private budget briefing for the DSA

Published

3 months ago

June 9, 2026

Sherif Soliman (left), director of the Office of Management and Budget, recently briefed Democratic Socialists of America members on city finances.

MONEY TALKS: Sherif Soliman, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s budget chief, privately briefed members of the Democratic Socialists of America on the state of New York City’s finances last week — a move that could raise ethical concerns, according to a person at the meeting and a prominent government watchdog.

The meeting, billed as a “debrief” on the DSA’s “Tax the Rich Campaign,” was held on June 1 at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple in Clinton Hill. An invitation to the event obtained by Playbook encouraged people to sign up to become dues-paying DSA members in order to participate in the briefing.

During the gathering, Soliman told DSA members he has “the privilege of working alongside our mayor to lead the Office of Management and Budget,” according to the person who attended the closed-door affair and was granted anonymity to divulge details about it.

“So I have the power of the purse,” the OMB director added, per that person’s retelling.

Soliman, the mayor’s lead negotiator in budget talks with the City Council, then delivered a 10-minute presentation on how Mamdani’s administration has plugged a multibillion-dollar municipal deficit this year using savings initiatives, state funding commitments and new revenue generators, including a new tax on wealthy homeowners, said the person.

Soliman’s participation in the DSA confab is a strong sign of the deep ties between Mamdani and the socialist group, which the mayor has said remains his “political home.”

A former city government official, granted anonymity to speak candidly about an issue he didn’t have direct knowledge of, said the briefing Soliman delivered sounds like the sort of detailed budget breakdowns mayoral administrations usually reserve for Council members as part of financial plan negotiations.

Under city ethics law, a non-elected public servant like Soliman cannot use “any city resources,” such as their “city title” or “city personnel,” for “any non-city purpose,” according to a municipal government handbook.

Richard Briffault, a former chair of the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board, said there are scenarios where it’s okay under the law for senior municipal employees to deliver remarks in their official capacity at events hosted by political organizations.

But given that last week’s DSA forum included a membership drive component, Briffault said that Soliman’s participation — and use of his full city title — could raise legal concerns. “This strikes me as maybe on that line of using his title to promote a political organization,” he said.

Briffault said the situation would be even more serious if Soliman used municipal resources, like staffers or city government time, to help prepare for the briefing. If no city resources were used, he said, any violations at play would likely be minor.

“If there was anything wrong, it was likely minimally wrong,” he said.

Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec would not say whether Soliman — who delivered budget testimony before the City Council this morning (more on that below) — used city staff or other resources in preparation for his DSA presentation. She also would not say whether he consulted the Conflicts of Interest Board beforehand.

Pekec, however, did say it’s common for mayoral administration officials to “engage with a wide range of external stakeholders on matters concerning the city.”

Due to confidentiality protocols, the Conflicts of Interest Board doesn’t comment on possible ethical infractions involving individual city government employees.

Speaking in general, Carolyn Miller, the board’s executive director, said it “might” be an ethics law violation for a public servant to use their title in connection with a political club event where participants are encouraged to become dues-paying members.

“However, meetings of political clubs are also gatherings of City residents, and there may be circumstances where a presentation by a City official about a City policy issue (such as a DOHMH official speaking about virus transmission and prevention) would have a City purpose for which the use of City title would be appropriate,” Miller wrote in an email. — Chris Sommerfeldt

From the Capitol

White House border czar Tom Homan said the influx of federal immigration agents into New York would not trigger a Minneapolis-style response.

HOMAN SPEAKS: Trump administration border czar Tom Homan insisted today that the upcoming surge of ICE agents into New York won’t be like Minneapolis.

“You will not see a Minnesota,” he told SiriusXM’s Chris Cuomo in an interview. “I will not let Minnesota happen.”

Concern is high among Democrats that an aggressive enforcement effort in New York will create similar unrest that led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens earlier this year in the North Star State.

Flooding New York with federal immigration enforcement agents would be a different prospect, though — something Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration has been bracing for since the start of the year.

Homan maintains that the stepped-up enforcement is needed after Hochul and the Democratic-led Legislature approved a package of measures meant to put legal guardrails around Trump’s deportation campaign.

The New York-focused push will be “well planned,” Homan said.

“It’s gonna be a controlled operation,” he said. “It’s gonna be a targeted enforcement operation. Every day we leave the office and we know exactly who we’re looking for, more likely where we will find them, because we have a targeted operation.”

On X, Hochul said the measures she backed would not provide “sanctuary” for dangerous criminals.

“We will continue working with federal authorities to target violent offenders,” she said. “But we will not stand by if ICE floods our communities with agents, separates families, and turns our neighborhoods into the backdrop for a campaign of fear.” — Nick Reisman

FROM CITY HALL

The French Air and Space Force sent planes with red, white and blue exhaust plumes to help celebrate America's 250th birthday, flying over the State of Liberty, another French gift, on Tuesday.

RED WHITE AND BLUE: French jets with red, white and blue exhaust plumes flew over the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty this morning as part of the country’s 250th birthday present to America. The Patrouille de France, the French equivalent of the Blue Angels, are touring the region and expected to be back in New York for a multinational armed forces review on July 4 that President Donald Trump is expected to attend.

During a Monday press conference at the French consulate on the Upper East Side, Brigadier General Pierre Gaudillière, head of the Liberté 250 mission, said planning for the flyovers began months ago to celebrate a military alliance that dates back to when the French provided aid to George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

“As Americans observe our 250th anniversary, it is especially meaningful to have one of our oldest allies helping us mark the occasion in our skies,” U.S. Air Force Maj. General Ricky Mills told reporters.

Asked about ongoing rifts over the Iran war, both Mills and Gaudillière emphasized ongoing cooperation.

“In some arenas of the world, we can share the premises where our forces are deployed and sometimes the missions differ for political reasons,” Gaudillièr said. “But there still is a very strong bond between the French and the American air and space forces.” — Ry Rivard

COUNCIL’S WISH LIST: Council Speaker Julie Menin telegraphed some of the body’s budget priorities during a four-hour hearing today.

The marathon session with the Office of Management and Budget nearly finishes the latest round of oversight hearings before lawmakers begin final negotiations with the Mamdani administration. The Council must then approve the final spending plan before the start of the fiscal year on July 1.

“The Council and administration can agree to fund many programs for the success, health and safety of all New Yorkers,” Menin said before rattling off some of lawmakers’ top priorities.

She specifically name-checked the Fair Fares program, which provides discounted public transit fares to lower-income New Yorkers. She floated the idea of bringing the budget for the Department of Parks and Recreation in line with historic spending. She wants to expand the New York City Kids RISE program, which helps young New Yorkers start scholarship funds early. And Menin wants to funnel more money to oversight agencies like the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection and the Department of Investigation.

While Mamdani just got through precariously balancing the city’s finances with a major assist from Albany, Menin’s beancounters predict the city will have around $2 billion in even more revenue this fiscal year and next to pay for some of the Council’s asks. — Joe Anuta

FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Assemblymember Grace Lee (second from left) attends a 2024 traffic safety bill signing event with Gov. Kathy Hochul.

ZONED OUT: Assemblymember Grace Lee’s sleek white Tesla has accumulated two dozen parking, bus-lane and speed-camera tickets around the city over the past three years — and her car-less political opponent is trying to make it an issue as they compete for an open Lower Manhattan state Senate seat.

Records from howsmydrivingny.nyc show Lee’s vehicle has been fined $1,800 by the city in the last three years. Four of the six school-zone speeding tickets her car has received came at the exact same location — right by P.S. 97 at FDR Drive and East Houston Street, which is located in the senate district she’s running to represent. She also snagged a parking ticket for the “misuse” of her Assembly parking placard, something Niou said indicates her callous attitude toward the law.

“People make mistakes, but abusing her placard and getting six school zone speeding tickets in just the last three years, seems like she doesn’t care about the danger and doesn’t believe that the law applies to her,” former Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, who is challenging Lee for retiring state Sen. Brian Kavanagh’s seat, told Playbook in a statement.

Lee was part of previous pushes to tighten restrictions on drivers in the state and city. She joined city officials in 2024 to applaud the lowering of speed limits in the city, and the same year appeared with Hochul to celebrate a state law expanding red light camera programs.

“In Lower Manhattan, where heavy traffic and busy pedestrian areas meet daily, these expanded and newly established programs will reduce accidents and hold reckless drivers accountable,” Lee said at the time. “Together, we are building safer streets for all New Yorkers by protecting lives and preventing tragedies.”

Lee’s campaign spokesperson Austin Shafran responded to Niou’s attack in a statement.

“This attack reeks of desperation from a flailing candidate who’s been absent from the community and doesn’t have much of a record of public service to run on,” he said. — Jason Beeferman

IN OTHER NEWS

— BLANK SLATE: After pressure from Mamdani and tenant organizers, a landlord agreed to forgive millions of dollars in back rent for 5,100 apartments. (Gothamist)

— MOM AND POP: A Long Island official is pushing a resolution that would require the use of the words “mother” and “father” in town code in response to a state bill on surrogacy that seeks to remove those labels. (New York Post)

— UNEQUAL BURDEN: A new report finds New York City’s property tax system, which Mamdani campaigned on fixing, places the tax burden more on rent-stabilized buildings than high-end homes. (The City Reporter)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

Politics

Kamala Harris is wading into the midterms. Some Democrats want her to stay out.

Published

4 hours ago

September 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is revving up her involvement in the midterms. While some Democrats are eager to embrace her, others want her to steer clear.

Harris is planning to attend a canvass launch with Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford for his gubernatorial bid next month in Las Vegas, his campaign told Blue Light News.

“As anyone who is interested in 2028 should do, Kamala Harris will be coming through. We are a pivotal state in the presidential election,” Ford said in an interview in Las Vegas on Tuesday. “2028 starts right now in 2026.”

Harris’ plans to visit Nevada signal yet another step into the fray of the midterms — and the national political stage. On Tuesday, she publicly backed Rep. Chris Pappas in his Senate bid in New Hampshire, a must-hold seat for the party in a state that Harris narrowly won in 2024. And she waded into three House races, two Democratic-leaning districts in her home state and a solidly Republican one in Tennessee.

Harris had kept a relatively low profile so far on the campaign trail. Some Democrats prefer it that way.

Iowa’s two most prominent Democratic candidates have said they do not want Harris to campaign for them. Alaska’s Democratic Senate nominee rejected a fundraising solicitation Harris sent on her behalf. And a swing-district Democrat in Wisconsin and a long-shot Senate hopeful in Kansas both told Blue Light News they would prefer Harris keep her distance.

“I received 9,000 more votes than Harris in 2024,” Rebecca Cooke, the Democratic challenger to Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden in western Wisconsin, said in a statement when asked by Blue Light News. “I don’t need anyone to come and campaign with me in my district. I do the work of building relationships — including across the aisle — on my own.”

The arm’s-length treatment isn’t necessarily surprising: red-state and rural Democrats have long been hesitant to tie themselves to national Democratic figures. They are increasingly distancing themselves now as polls show the Democratic brand remains underwater even as President Donald Trump’s own standing with voters continues to drop. Trump’s approval hit a weak 36 percent in a recent poll conducted by The Economic and YouGov, while a separate survey from the pollster showed over 56 percent of registered voters disapproved of the Democratic Party.

Harris’ favorability numbers at the end of last year only stood at 42 percent. As the party’s most recent presidential nominee, she is one of its most prominent avatars.

A Cooke campaign aide, granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations, said Cooke’s team has turned down campaign offers from other national Democrats as she focuses on making a personal case to voters in one of the party’s top target districts this fall.

Cooke hasn’t warded off everyone, however: During her primary she leaned heavily into support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), featuring him in campaign ads; his team also sent texts to help turn out voters. She also has accepted endorsements from potential 2028 candidates like former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.).

Other high-profile Democrats, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have similarly stayed relatively low-key with their own endorsements so far. He’s faced some Democratic distancing himself: Stefany Shaheen, who is running for a House seat in New Hampshire, emphasized her support from Granite Staters when asked about a fundraising email the governor sent on her behalf last month.

Harris, like other potential presidential candidates, needs to build a network of friends and favors — much of which she has already developed from her own runs for Senate, the White House and her four years as vice president — while staying relevant. She retains a powerful fundraising network that can help down-ticket Democrats, too.

But in many parts of the country where she lost, her involvement could be a drag for Democrats otherwise facing strong political tailwinds in the midterms.

“It’s all good,” Eduardo Negrón, a spokesperson for Harris, said in a statement. “Vice President Harris will continue to raise money and travel on behalf of candidates in races where she can help make a difference. With Trump so unpopular and our deep bench of strong candidates, we are now seeing deeply red states in play this cycle. The Vice President believes we should be ruthless about competing everywhere and that means giving candidates in tough races the space to do whatever it takes to win.”

Harris’ recent ramp-up marks a shift from what had been an otherwise quiet midterms strategy that has focused primarily on standing by close preexisting relationships. It’s strikingly different from other potential 2028 presidential candidates who’ve endorsed more widely and been more prominent on the campaign trail.

One of the few times she did weigh into a contested primary was for Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) — a co-chair of her 2024 presidential campaign — in her bid for Texas Senate. The vice president’s support came in the form of a robo-call released just days before the primary rather than an in-person appearance, and she quickly backed James Talarico shortly after he won the nomination. She also threw her support behind Michigan Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed after a bruising primary that has left Democrats scrambling to project unity heading into the general election.

Red-state Democrats have been particularly pointed in their calls to keep Harris out of their races.

“In Kansas, you’re trying to reach 45 percent of the state who are Republicans and a lot of really good people who are Republicans, but their vantage point or their worldview may be a bit different than Kamala Harris’,” Kansas Democratic Senate nominee Adam Hamilton told Blue Light News. “What I’m looking at is I’m really mounting a very Kansas-centered campaign, and I’m out speaking, I tell people I’m running as an independent-minded Democrat.”

Hamilton is running an uphill battle in a state that hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932. The state is seen as potentially somewhat in play amid the ongoing war in Iran, trade wars with close allies and a persistent cost of living crisis that have cut especially deep in agricultural territory.

But that doesn’t mean a coastal Democrat like Harris would play well in the conservative heartland.

“Having somebody from California come in and try to tell Kansans who they should vote for is a pretty bad idea,” Hamilton said. Harris has not endorsed in the race.

Other Democrats have taken similar tones toward Harris in recent days. In an interview with Blue Light News, Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand said he would not want the former vice president to appear with him as he runs for governor, adding that the country needed “new leadership.”

State Rep. Josh Turek, speaking with reporters after an event for his Senate campaign in Cedar Rapids, broadcasted an even more blunt answer to the same question: “No,” he said flatly, letting out a laugh.

A similar scenario played out in Alaska last month. After Harris’ team sent a fundraising email for Senate candidate and former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) on the eve of the state’s primary election, a spokesperson for Peltola’s campaign told a local Alaska television station that she “isn’t seeking endorsements from anyone from the Lower 48.” Peltola’s campaign did not respond to Blue Light News’s questions on the matter.

Campaign spokespeople for several battleground Senate Democrats locked in high-profile races, including El-Sayed in Michigan, Troy Jackson in Maine and Roy Cooper in North Carolina — who have all received her support — declined to respond to requests for comment about how involved they would like the former vice president to be in their races.

Harris’ support isn’t an albatross for all Democrats, however. For some, her endorsement is welcome — and they want her out on the trail.

One key battleground Democrat (and a potential 2028 rival), Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, embraced Harris’ support with open arms. “Senator Ossoff is grateful for Vice President Harris’ help and support in his re-election campaign,” campaign spokesperson Ellie Dougherty said in a statement, adding that he would welcome her to Georgia to campaign alongside him or on his behalf.

Harris lost Georgia, but the rightward swing in the state was the smallest of any battleground — in large part because of a population boom in metro Atlanta and the large share of Black voters.

And in deep-blue Massachusetts, former Biden White House aide Dan Koh won an open House primary on Tuesday after running aggressively on support from Harris and President Joe Biden. Koh sought their support and featured them prominently in a campaign ad and in social media videos. He said scheduling didn’t work out for them to hit the trail, though.

“I will never run away from two people I admire greatly, who I believe did a lot of good for this country,” Koh said last week.

Jessica Piper contributed to this report.

Politics

Stephen A. Smith has some words for Democrats as he makes his 2028 plans clear

Published

5 hours ago

September 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith has been bouncing around cable TV but insists he’s staying out of one arena: the political one.

The outspoken ESPN personality isn’t staying away from talking politics — far from it. But Smith told Blue Light News in an interview airing Thursday that he’s not running for president in 2028 in his firmest rejection yet of speculation that has surrounded him for the past year.

“The minute I announce that I’m running, I would be taken off the air,” Smith said in an interview on The Conversation with Dasha Burns. “I wouldn’t be able to work, and I would lose a contract that I worked my entire career for, you know, and I’m not giving that up.”

He left no wiggle room: “As long as the rules are what they are and they can’t be circumvented, it’s not something that I’m going to think about.”

That didn’t mean Smith, who is famous for his brash takes, didn’t have a few about Democrats and Republicans.

Smith, who has repeatedly doled out criticism of both parties, offered blunt advice for Democrats seeking a path back to power: Purge the Democratic Socialists of America and restrain the party’s progressive flank.

The Democrats, he said, should only welcome people who “march lockstep” with the party. “We should never want to hear anything about the Democratic Party being a ‘big tent,’” he said.

Asked how Democrats should handle the progressives, Smith said: “Tell them to sit their ass down and get with the program.”

He also warned that Democrats’ association with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker would “come back to haunt” the party. Smith said he would have Piker on his show “if necessary,” and then “grill him about the things that he said and why.”

Smith’s remarks come as Democrats have been distancing themselves from Piker, who played an active role in supporting Abdul El-Sayed for Senate in Michigan and has come under fire for commentary that has included suggesting that American Jewish support for Israel could lead someone to “take action” against Jews in the U.S.

The ESPN star also had some praise for President Donald Trump, crediting him for recognizing “that most voters believe our politics and our politicians are full of shit” in a way that Democrats have been unable to articulate as well.

“He speaks a language that the electorate, no matter who they are or what side of the aisle they are on, can relate to, even if they despise him,” Smith said, adding that there are millions of voters out there who “want chaos” and “the evisceration of rules and decorum and regulations.”

Looking ahead to 2028, Smith named Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as his top prospect for Democrats, calling him “big time,” and saying “[his] record is head and shoulders above anybody right now.”

Smith also praised Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, but thinks electing him could be a challenge following Barack Obama’s presidency.

On the Republican side, Smith dismissed a potential run by media personality Tucker Carlson, noting he doesn’t think the former Fox host could secure enough support from independents.

On the other hand, Smith argued that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be a stronger candidate than Vice President JD Vance.

Vance is “an individual that tries to be too like Trump,” Smith told Blue Light News. “And I don’t think there’s — the level of authenticity that you’re wishing to see from candidates; I don’t think he’s that guy. I think that Marco Rubio is an authentic individual.”

Smith even noted he would consider voting for Rubio himself, saying it depends “on the candidate on the left.”

Watch the whole interview on the latest episode of “The Conversation.”