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Very good article, interview with Kathryn Garcia, another Democratic candidate for NYC Mayor:
Up until several days ago, one of the more depressing aspects of the race for New York City mayor was the fact that Kathryn Garcia, arguably the most qualified candidate, appeared to have no shot. This was despite being one of the few candidates who’s actually worked in city government, including at the height of the pandemic, and so clearly ready to go on day one that fellow candidate Andrew Yang had made it a habit of telling reporters that he’d hire her to manage day-to-day operations while he focused on “team-building” and “culture-setting.” Both of those things—Garcia’s standing and Yang’s praise—changed this week, when a pair of polls came out putting her anywhere between third and first place, making it seem like the candidate with the most experience might actually have a chance. Which, y’know, would probably be a good thing for New Yorkers, who are about to decide, in the words of The New York Times, “the most consequential mayoral contest in a generation.”
On Thursday, Garcia sat down with Vanity Fair to discuss her growing momentum, how she plans to get the city back on its feet, fixing the damn subway, what she did during rare pandemic downtime, and more.
Vanity Fair: A poll on Tuesday had you as the front-runner, and one on Wednesday had you in third place. How do you position yourself in this race?
Kathryn Garcia: We feel a lot of enthusiasm on the ground. But this is really what our strategy was. You want to be on the voters’ minds as they are going to the polling places. And, we’re less than four weeks from primary day, which is the most important.
What was your reaction when you heard that The New York Times was endorsing you?
We were in the middle of debate prep. I do it, I know I have to do it, I know I’m better when I do it, but it’s not fun because they’re not nice. [Laughs] One of my staffers got it texted to her from her boyfriend, and she turned and put the phone in front of me. And I froze. And then I was like, So are we still doing debate prep? Is there something [else] we do now? And my staff was like, Yeah, there’s other things we’re going to do now.
On Thursday, Garcia sat down with Vanity Fair to discuss her growing momentum, how she plans to get the city back on its feet, fixing the damn subway, what she did during rare pandemic downtime, and more.
Vanity Fair: A poll on Tuesday had you as the front-runner, and one on Wednesday had you in third place. How do you position yourself in this race?
Kathryn Garcia: We feel a lot of enthusiasm on the ground. But this is really what our strategy was. You want to be on the voters’ minds as they are going to the polling places. And, we’re less than four weeks from primary day, which is the most important.
What was your reaction when you heard that The New York Times was endorsing you?
We were in the middle of debate prep. I do it, I know I have to do it, I know I’m better when I do it, but it’s not fun because they’re not nice. [Laughs] One of my staffers got it texted to her from her boyfriend, and she turned and put the phone in front of me. And I froze. And then I was like, So are we still doing debate prep? Is there something [else] we do now? And my staff was like, Yeah, there’s other things we’re going to do now.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/05/kathryn-garcia-mayoral-interview