Former Big Apple Mayor and groundhog killer Bill de Blasio and his aides are clamoring to become relevant again — by sucking up to socialist and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani in the hopes of scoring a position in his potential administration, The Post has learned.
The two-term ex-mayor — a vocal supporter of the Queens assemblyman — has been whispering in Mamdani’s ear as an informal adviser, sources said.
Blaz’s former influential aide, Patrick Gaspard, has also carved out a role in the millennial candidate’s campaign, helping him to navigate the various voter blocs unsettled by his nomination in the shocking primary upset.
However, insiders say that the advice and guidance is more a play by de Blasio and crew to become “relevant” — and they don’t wield much influence over Mamdani’s campaign.
“My understanding is that the Mamdani people are letting anyone chime in, and the de Blasio people are providing advice, but they aren’t really making campaign decisions, seemingly just trying to get their names in the paper, make some calls, be relevant,” one source told The Post.
“Technically, they are advising, but not to the extent they are boasting.”
Still, Gaspard was the key architect in arranging Mamdani’s appearance at the National Action Network with Rev. Al Sharpton after his stunning win over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — a noted foe of de Blasio, whom the former mayor vowed to do everything in his power to stop.
Gaspard — who also served as a political director of the influential SEIU 1199 union, a US Ambassador to South Africa and as Obama’s White House Director of Political Affairs — has deep ties with the Big Apple’s black communities, labor unions and the larger Democratic Party.
Sources told The Post that Gaspard has been pushing hard for a job in the potential administration as he carves himself out a role in the campaign.
Camille Rivera, another former adviser to de Blasio who runs the political firm New Deal Strategies, has also been pitching in.
Meanwhile, other cronies of the failed presidential candidate that have either been advising Mamdani or have been floated as potential campaign or administration aides include former Deputy Mayor Emma Wolfe, former city council legislative director and universal pre-k architect, Josh Wallach, and former deputy director of the New York City Census office, Amit Bagga.
But Big Apple political operatives are warning that welcoming de Blasio’s former aides back into City Hall could derail his pledge to remake the Big Apple.
“They need to be careful about measuring the drapes too early,” a source quipped.
“He has a real opportunity to bring in fresh energy and thinking to build a more modern government for NYC. That will never happen with de Blasio retreads.”
De Blasio, who Mamdani praised as “the best mayor in his lifetime” in a New York Times interview, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Both the ex-mayor and his girlfriend, Nomiki Konst, a political commentator and former candidate for public advocate, have been vocal about their support for the upstart socialist on social media.
“If they want to remind everyday New Yorkers that @ZohranKMamdani is on their side, this is the PERFECT way to do it,” de Blasio recently posted on X, in response to a Wall Street Journal article about Big Apple financiers trying to stop the lefty pol.
Konst also scoffed at a New York Times article questioning the 33-year-old Mamdani’s resume and experience.
“At this point in the race, anyone in this piece quoted is only helping Cuomo, who has no ideas and a horrible track record with people [and] should be nowhere near government ever again,” she wrote on X.
“At least Zohran has a vision and has confirmed he’ll bring in folks who’ve been successful at Gracie.”
The quest for relevance for some of de Blasio’s former aides comes as Mamdani’s team scrambles to beef up its ranks for the coming general election, where he will square off against Mayor Eric Adams, GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa, Jim Walden, and Cuomo.
“They’re overwhelmed right now,” one source close said. “Very reminiscent of de Blasio.”
The campaign, meanwhile, recently made a huge shift in leadership, moving communications director Andrew Epstein to oversee video and replacing him with Jeffrey Lerner, a former aide to Cuomo and political director to the Democratic National Committee.
In the final stretch of the primary and the days that followed, Epstein had struggled to keep up with the deluge of media requests from local and national media looking to cover the massive upset.
Other City Hall hawks have also been pitching in to help as a go-between for the campaign to connect with business communities, including Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the non-profit organization Partnership for New York.
Wylde is one of the city’s most powerful power brokers and has spoken more positively about the candidate in recent weeks.
“His qualifying comments have identified the capitalist system as promoting income inequality. A lot of people in business agree with him on that,” Wylde said in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal.
