Joe Borelli, Managing Director at Chartwell Strategy Group and former

New York City Council Minority Leader, joined the show to discuss how

President Trump is doing so far in his second term and the unfolding

election for New York City Mayor. The Staten Island Republican spent

over a dozen years in elected office, in the State Assembly then City

Council, until earlier this year when he left government for the

private sector. (Ep 525)

New York Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, a Democrat and former

member of Congress, joined the show to discuss his decision to

challenge Governor Kathy Hochul in the June 2026 primary, how their

relationship fell apart, key issues facing New York and his platform

to address them, and more. (Ep 524)

New York State Senator John Liu, a Queens Democrat, joined the show to discuss key challenges facing his constituents and New York, his support for Zohran Mamdani for mayor, Asian voters, and much more. (Ep 523)

Jonathan Rosen — CEO of Orchestra, co-founder of BerlinRosen, and a top political advisor to Brad Lander and Bill de Blasio — joined the show to discuss the changing communications and media landscape, Lander's unsuccessful bid for mayor, lessons from de Blasio's 2013 win and tenure, Zohran Mamdani's ascension, and more. (Ep 521)

Kevin Elkins, a senior advisor on former Governor Andrew Cuomo's Democratic primary campaign for mayor and the political director for the New York City carpenters union, joined the show to discuss the Cuomo campaign, the value of endorsements, labor politics, and much more. (Ep 520)

The 2025 New York City Charter Revision Commission just advanced five proposals to the general election ballot dealing with housing, land use, and elections. The chair of the commission, Richard Buery, and its executive director, Alec Shierenbeck, joined the show to discuss the proposals that aim to increase housing growth and voter participation, among other goals, as well as one major reform that the commission did not advance for voters to approve or disapprove. Voters will be able to vote "yes" or "no" on all five on their general election ballots this fall. (Ep 519)

Trip Yang, founder and CEO of Trip Yang Strategies, and Sam Raskin, Senior Vice President at Slingshot Strategies, joined the show to discuss key takeaways from the 2025 Democratic primary for New York City mayor, won by Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, and what those takeaways may mean for the future of New York politics, including the general election for mayor. (Ep 518)

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Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, a Queens Democrat who represents the 34th Assembly District (Astoria, Corona, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Woodside), and Eli Valentín, a political analyst and columnist, joined the show to discuss Latino voters and the New York City mayoral race. With host Ben Max, they discussed Zohran Mamdani's surprisingly strong performance among Latino voters, key issues of importance in the race, Mamdani's record in the Assembly, the challenges he could face in implementing his agenda, and more. (Related reading: Valentín's post-primary column on the Latino vote: https://citylimits.org/latino-voters-and-the-political-earthquake-in-new-york/) Ep 516

Michael Gianaris, the State Senate Deputy Leader and head of Senate Democrats' campaign efforts, joined the show to discuss his fellow Queens legislator — Zohran Mamdani — winning the Democratic primary for Mayor, Mamdani's record in the Legislature (including on issues where they partnered like public transit), and how Democrats should respond to Mamdani's success. (Ep 515)

Mara Gay — an opinion writer at The New York Times, a former member of The Times' Editorial Board, and a longtime New York journalist who has covered New York and national politics — joined the show to discuss Zohran Mamdani's victory in the Democratic primary for Mayor, the flaws in the Democratic establishment, the role of the Times, and what comes next. (Ep 314)