[21][22][23] In 2022, Smith became a communications adviser for Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow. This story has been shared 127,012 times. James Devaney/Getty Images. Smith said she learned a hard lesson: Even a professional cant try to manage a personal crisis without help. Why do I fucking love John McCain? Wren: Lets talk about another Cincinnatian: Joey Burrow, your Bengals politically outspoken quarterback. Mistakes Ive made in my professional life. But Smith is still sour that de Blasio let her hang out to dry. ELIOT AND DeBABE blared the cover of the New York Post, which ran several photos of the pair on its inside pages and in a column from the acid-tongued Andrea Peyser which called Smith not just any ordinary bimbo and called her an ambitious, youngish cookie who presumably does not charge Eliot for any services rendered., Eliot Spitzer and Lis Smith at a Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in 2014. People get stuck in a rut because something worked last cycle, and so they think it will work this cycle and it doesnt. My end goalsbeing able to stay in New York with Eliot and serve as the New York City mayors press secretarywere in sight. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Hes someone I ask for advice. It may look like the sky is falling, but just ride this out.. Youve got this hard-nosed New York-style political operative and this friendly Hoosier mayor, he said. I was coming off some New York races where everything is just all-day personal attacks getting in the mud. He laid out his case for how a millennial municipal official from a town the size of a New York City Council district could somehow seize the Democratic nomination. Adam Wren is national politics correspondent at POLITICO. I had a beerhe stuck to waterand we talked about his political ambitions and the state of the Democratic Party and why Trump won. I wasnt born yesterday. And someone needs to be. Im joking. After winning the election, the candidate joined the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), and Smith consulted briefly for the group. POLITICO Weekend flies into inboxes every Friday. And there was not a better antidote to Trump than Pete in terms of style, in terms of life experience, and in terms of his worldview. In the past several months, Buttigieg has been not just all over cable and in the newspapers, but in Our Daily Planet, an environmental morning newsletter with just over 5,000 Twitter followers; in a financial planning podcast called Pete the Planner; and on West Wing Weekly, the obsessive episode-by-episode podcast breakdown of The West Wing. Eight hundred have showed up. Id made some faulty assumptions, but the first was that my loyalty to de Blasio or my competence at my job mattered. What else was the oppo they were dropping? Smith is now Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's spokeswoman and is dating Spitzer. Copyright 2023 Market Realist. [7] As communications director for the DGA, she oversaw gubernatorial campaign efforts in Kentucky and West Virginia. I had to deal with candidates who, unfortunately, did not give me all the facts, and you cant effectively handle a crisis. Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images. Im just going to leave it there because I thought it was funny. But is it undermining its own side? [36][37][38] She also has an active social media presence, through which she addresses political topics and factchecks statements by Republican politicians such as Mitt Romney. Maybe they wont focus on the former reigning champion [Spitzer], for once. I fucking love John McCain. Hold on, Im sorry. I figured he was special and it couldnt hurt if everybody knows who he is.. In a clip from her memoir shared by Fox News, Smith slammed de Blasio for leaving her out to dry after firing her over the affair. Wren: How is Harris doing as a communicator? Its really hard to do a hit piece on a guy who you are going to see the next morning over coffee and donuts, says Weaver. Politics is literally a matter of life and death. Critics of the IDC have questioned Smith's loyalty to the implementation of progressive policies and candidates. [43], Smith says she experiences stage fright. What is Lis Smiths secret sauce? [17] She has been included in Fortune's 40 Under 40 in Government and Politics,[18] and Crain's list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in New York. But I appreciate his courage in being willing to speak out about it. Did I think I was going to walk into his office and tell him that I was dating Eliot Spitzer? She is operating on two and a half hours of sleep, having just arrived back in New York on a charter jet from South Bend, Indiana, after Buttigieg announced he was running for president. We met at the Roxy Hotel in Tribeca. Its an inherent conflict of interest. She recently appeared on Fox News and is catching the attention of other media outlets to further discuss the juicy details she spilled in her memoir. Wren: Theres a part of Pete that is a little wonky, a little square. He was a once-in-a-generation talent, someone who perfectly met the moment. [11][12] In 2018, Smith became spokeswoman for Andrew Cuomo's successful re-election campaign, who had endorsed the political entity. Her father was a partner at the white-shoe law firm Sidley Austin. Andrew Cuomo's. [2][9], Her role in the campaign was explored by the 2021 documentary film Mayor Pete. You write: Here we go said Larry Grisolano, Petes media consultant, stating the obvious. I want political people to read this book, because I think its fun. Oversaturation? But it is kind of fascinating to watch., Smith met Buttigieg on the recommendation of Axelrod and former Maryland Governor Martin OMalley. Maybe theres still time for me to choose a new life path because I felt extremely disillusioned. And so much of my book is about the power of belief and the element of belief that it takes to succeed in professional football, in politics, and hes the one who brought that belief back for me, and brought my love my pure love of politics back for me. Former communications director, Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign. I think I am impressive because I am a violinist and I went to Dartmouth and I speak French and have traveled all over the world and, I dont know, I know a lot about great apes, she says. Now that they have achieved liftoff, as it were, Smith is preparing for the next part of the campaign. `Jesus, you always keep it interesting.'. But it was one of those moments where I had to go with my gut. Sign up for our newsletter. In that same vein, I know that there were people in the transportation secretarys inner circle that thought his taking that position wasnt the best idea. Read on for more details on the relationship that cost Smith her job, who she has dated since, and what shes up to these days. By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or updates from POLITICO and you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service. It will hopefully make the cost of prescription drugs go down, or cut the price of insulin. She advised a couple of governors still left in office, and started taking on more nonprofit clients. Adam Wren: In the beginning, you scored the contract for this book based on your high-profile turn as a senior communications adviser to Pete Buttigieg. Not long after that, at the presidential primary debate in Miami on June 27, you take us inside the greenroom backstage as you watched Pete get asked about this incredibly fraught moment. On the flip side of that, the most established, the most convention conventional political consultants werent going to go work for Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend. Smith: Joey Burrow is an incredible leader. [20] She was a senior advisor on Corey Johnson's 2021 campaign for New York City Comptroller, and raised $3.5 million in funds for a PAC supporting Andrew Yang's 2021 mayoral campaign. | Lorenzo Bevilaqua/ABC via Getty Images. Based on that experience, how should Democrats make gains in those kinds of states in 2022? Maybe a story that would be 80-20 bad you can get down to 60-40 bad, and that little bit is worth it.. Spitzer, at the time, was attempting to regain his footing in politics after resigning from his position in 2008. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. Smith: Yeah. Our resort was more Leave It to Beaver than Debbie Does Dallas,' she claimed. [44] She describes herself as an "oyster-tarian," which she defines as a vegetarian who will eat oysters. Smith: Are we talking about the same Pete Buttigieg? Pete has no battle scars. Disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, 54, and his new girlfriend Lis Smith, 31, may have enjoyed a relaxing family Christmas, but their cosy domesticity could soon be upset after it . We've received your submission. Except then it didnt. It pisses me off, she adds, When candidates think they are too good for some of these outlets, or that it cheapens them to do TMZ or do a more entertainment-focused thing. Are you kidding me? Chuck Kennedy/PFA. Thats a pretty ballsy thing to do. And the fact that hes everywhere, from cable TV to Ebony to your local NPR show to your favorite sports podcast, means that a guy with no name recognition is suddenly hard to avoid. And especially on far-leftist DSA Twitter, Im basically just depicted as a mix between Lady Macbeth and Rasputin in a wig, that Im like some soulless political operatives. By ERIN BANCO, GARRETT M. GRAFF, LARA SELIGMAN, NAHAL TOOSI and ALEXANDER WARD. To avoid stakeouts during the media frenzy that followed, Smith said she temporarily stayed with a friend from her college days at Dartmouthwho resided on the Upper West Side. Riley Keough has been married to Australian stuntman Ben Smith-Petersen since 2015. Its a local-politics mentality to find the people that are going to be telling this story, and if nothing else, making sure they have a real understanding of who you are. She is 36, a year younger than Buttigieg, which, Thank God. And its really heartening because you realize the future of the Democratic Party is really bright, and that all we need to do is help lift these people up. I would do that for free.). | Elijah Nouvelage/REUTERS. Wren: What is your relationship with Pete like now? Miller is darkly. | James Devaney/GC Images. Smith a Bengals fan believes quarterback Joe Burrow is a great leader with a clear social conscience, and she wouldnt rule out the possibility of him having a political career. I had gone through this awful breakup [with former New York Gov. He knows the importance of building up our bench. A photo and audio tour of the hosts driving the conversation. ", Before they get in the car, I ask Buttigieg if Smith is being helpful in his campaign. And if people like it they like it, and if they dont they were probably never going to vote for you anyway.. From the second I met Pete, I knew that there was something special about him. And he is as squeaky clean behind the scenes as he is in front of the camera. Smith: It made me want to be better at my job. The savvy strategist then had to figure out how to break the news to de Blasio and his camp, as their soon-to-be City Hall press secretary was now at the center of her own juicy tabloid scandal. The American, democratic campaign communication specialist Lis Smith is a well-known face in American politics. Smith ended up dropping most of her other clients, politicians and nonprofits alike. When I was starting in politics, we didnt have women. A Democratic candidate in West Virginia is going to look very different from a Democratic candidate in New York, and we cant impose this one-size-fits-all thing and think that the Democratic Party is going to be a majority party. When they gave me the job I thought, first of all this job exists? And you just like have this moment, where youre like, Maybe this is it. Ive always tried to be very grounded. Although Smith and Spitzer attempted to keep the affair under wraps, a photographer for the New York Post spotted the pair at her SoHo walkup apartment, exchanging loving looks.. Why would a Pete Buttigieg hire me? [10], In 2016, she was the spokesperson for Marisol Alcantara's successful New York State Senate campaign. Because even power needs a day off. Tim Miller, my friend, wrote a great book weeks ago, where he talks about the danger of getting sucked up in the game. Because Pete is so Midwestern nice, I think it was helpful for him to have someone who could help kick him into another gear, and sort of push him to have the more aggressive instinct you need to break through in a presidential race. I worked in politics nine years before I ever moved to New York. How could they claim my dating life had nothing to do with the decision when it was the sole reason I was leaving,? she said. Seeing how Pete cuts through with people and what a truly effective messenger hes become for the Democratic Party, it makes you realize: Theres not just one Mayor Pete. Lis Smith, a Democratic communications operative, has written a memoir that pulls back the curtain on how campaigns are won and lost. I think that she gets a lot of unfair criticism. Your knowledge of the process? Smith has made a name for herself in recent months by working with a new crop of candidates in the middle of the country, including Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow (center). People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. What makes him such a magnet for criticism on both the left and the right? Weaver says that recreating that atmosphere in the days of Twitter, and in the days when the national political press corps has metastasized into a constantly hungry and multiheaded beast equipped with cell phones, is 10 times harder than when his team tried it in 1999. The attack we had been dreading was coming. Dont miss it! This includes with her own boss. John Edwards comes to mind. ET Political strategist Lis Smith isn't a married woman, though she may one day decide to tie the knot with a lucky somebody. Letting Terry be Terry. So I would obviously advise him not to respond. While her work history list might be lengthy, her dating track record isnt very long. She has extensive experience in public affairs, media relations, and crisis communications at the local, state and national levels. Smiths Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story, out July 19, is an irreverent, intimate and honest look behind the curtain of modern political image-making including her own. He weighed in after the shooting in Uvalde. It is my passion. The photographer also snapped Spitzer leaving Smiths apartment early the next morning wearing a skullcap and hooded sweatshirt, Not exactly the wardrobe of an innocent man, she notes. But he is also the kind of person journalists tend to like: bookish, somehow earnest with a sense of irony, and willing to talk the way journalists like people to talk, playing the pundit and getting into the political process and discussing his own ambitions. Lets be real, Adam. [2] In 2014, she became a communication consultant for Adriano Espaillat's congressional campaign. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Did it worry you that he might not be the candidate with whom people most wanted to have a beer or should we say, get lit with? You get a sense of the news, what is going to get picked up, she said, reaching into her bag for her copy of the Post, which she said she was saving for Buttigieg. [19], In 2020, Smith was one of six political experts named as fellows by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service. Oftentimes its not going to be found in Washington, D.C. Democratic Political strategist and former Pete Buttigieg 2020 campaign advisor Lis Smith trashed former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio during a Monday interview with MSNBC host Nicolle. Chill., Lis, I guess you could say, comes from a very different world than Northern Indiana., Lis Smith bursts through the doors of a marbled hotel bar in Brooklyn wearing oversized Anna Wintour sunglasses, a faux-fur-lined coat and impossibly thin and tall high heels. Wren: This book is in some ways a tell-all about the role of a political consultant. Wren: You mentioned that some people might view you as radioactive. Wren: One of your legacies is the coaching tree, to use an apt football metaphor, that you left behind on the Pete campaign. How consequential was that looking back? Eliot Spitzer wasted no time Wednesday in cozying up to his new girlfriend's family. Andrew Cuomo, had turned into a Nicorette-chomping ahole who ruined the lives of his staffers after letting national fame get to his head during the coronavirus pandemic. But to me it was more just revealing [the] nature of the sliding doors of campaigns, and I think thats what youre getting at. God, you fucked that up. | Mark Peterson/Redux, Yuki Iwamura/Redux. Were just not looking for them. What we did is fucking ridiculous. 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