4-13-26 - The Peek Perspective

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Liz Peek: Swalwell's Campaign Died in 13 Minutes. Here's Why.

Eric Swalwell's California governor campaign didn't just stall — it collapsed in roughly 13 minutes, with his own campaign chairman walking out the door just two hours after sexual misconduct allegations went public. Liz Peek called that a dead giveaway, dismissing the New York Times narrative that Californians simply didn't know Swalwell well enough as "total baloney." Everyone knew exactly who he was.

Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna is now filing a motion to expel him from the House, and Peek's argument is straightforward: if Swalwell was willing to use his congressional seat as a campaign launchpad, he doesn't get to hide behind it when things fall apart. She noted this is the same man who sat on the Intelligence Committee while involved with a suspected Chinese spy.

Democrats are playing a careful game — pushing Swalwell out of the governor's race while fighting to keep his House seat warm. The reason is cold math: Republicans hold a razor-thin majority, and every vacant Democratic seat tightens the margin. Peek described the maneuver as "almost a coordinated hit," with too many Democrats already splitting the California governor's vote in a race that could hand Republicans their first shot at the governorship in decades.

With Swalwell's 11% of the vote now up for grabs, Tom Steyer moves to the front of the Democratic field — with Katie Porter still in contention. Peek noted that Nancy Pelosi wants Swalwell out of the California race but desperately does not want to surrender that congressional seat. Classic Pelosi: protect the caucus count first, worry about everything else later.

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Mamdani Committed $70M for Five Municipal Grocery Stores, Spent $30M on Single Location

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrated his first 100 days in office by announcing the first city-owned grocery store will open in East Harlem's La Marqueta — a market space beneath the elevated Park Avenue tracks — at a projected cost of $30 million. The store, expected to welcome customers sometime next year, is positioned as a solution to the city's affordability crisis, promising cheaper eggs, cheaper bread, and fairer prices for New Yorkers.

There's just one problem with the math. Mamdani had pledged as recently as February that the entire five-store network would cost $70 million total. With one location already consuming $30 million — nearly half that budget — the numbers for the remaining four stores simply don't add up. The mayor insists all five will be open before the end of his first term in 2029, but the fiscal reality suggests taxpayers may be on the hook for far more than originally advertised.

Because La Marqueta is already city-owned, the store avoids rent costs — a point Mamdani highlighted as a structural advantage for the model. He pointed to a nearly 66% rise in New York City grocery prices between 2013 and 2023, well above the national average, as justification for city intervention in the market. Senator Bernie Sanders made a surprise appearance at the 100-day celebration to offer his endorsement of the initiative.

Critics note that government-run grocery stores have a well-documented history of inefficiency, and that blowing through half the five-store budget on a single location is precisely the kind of fiscal mismanagement New Yorkers should expect when politicians — rather than markets — decide how to feed a city. Whether the remaining four stores materialize at all, and at what cost to taxpayers, remains a very open question.