Editor’s note: Newcomers versus oldheads

Andrew Yang really annoyed me. Here was a guy who hadn’t engaged with New York City politics whatsoever until he decided to run for mayor in 2021. He surged in the polls, then faded and finished in fourth place.

And that was the last we ever saw of Andrew Yang in local politics.

He may be doing some good things now – I wholeheartedly support his advocacy for phone-free parties – but he’s not doing them at City Hall.

I was thinking of Yang while reading Kate Lisa’s great cover story about the 17th Congressional District matchup between Rep. Mike Lawler and Cait Conley.

Conley and the Democratic Party have the wind in their sails in the Lower Hudson Valley. Republicans are freaking out that President Donald Trump’s unpopularity will doom the party in swing seats, and the numbers suggest Lawler could get creamed.

But if Lawler has a real shot to hold on, it’s because he is deep in New York politics. He interned with the state GOP, worked on campaigns, worked in government, worked as a lobbyist. If Lawler ever got lost in the strange corridors of the state Capitol, it was a very long time ago. He knows his way around.

Conley, by contrast, has a great résumé serving in the Army and the Biden administration. But she’s new to the district, and she’s new to local politics.

Sometimes, fresh eyes are a benefit. Most New Yorkers – though not all – would say the outsider Mike Bloomberg was a better mayor than the experienced Eric Adams. It’ll be up to voters to decide in November. 

But if Lawler somehow pulls it off, I’ll be thinking about just how long he’s been reading City & State.