Yes, but politics is the art of the possible Arguably the last truly principled unabashed conservative to run for Mayor in NYC was Bill Buckley (and I would argue that his principles had problems and there were certainly some positions that I would consider conservative that he was unabashedly against)-—and when asked what was the first thing he would do if he was elected mayor of NYC, he replied that he would demand a recount.
If you love NYC and think you could aid it as mayor by moving it away from the liberal cliff somewhat, doing what it takes to get in the driver’s seat makes sense.
I don’t care for NYC and have no illusions about being able to guide it—but realize that that may not be true of all people.
Gaining office also is the goal of those that love power. Feigning a move away from the radical direction may gain the office, but then it becomes a tool for harm (cf. Bloomberg).