With help from Rishika Dugyala and Teresa Wiltz

What up, Recast family! A federal judge will appoint a special master to pore over a trove of documents seized from Donald Trump’s Florida residence. Plus it’s primary election day in Massachusetts. First, though, we focus on the ongoing water crisis in Mississippi’s capital city.     

Residents of Jackson, Miss., received much-needed relief over the Labor Day weekend, with state officials announcing the city’s water pressure has been restored.

On Monday, Gov. Tate Reeves touted the “historic steps to intervene in Jackson’s water system because it had reached crisis levels,” adding, “We know how to respond and we can do so effectively.”

The announcement comes a week after the city’s two-term mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, declared a water system emergency for the city’s 150,000 residents, the vast majority of whom are Black. The aging water system, which the mayor predicts will cost an estimated $1 billion to restore to full capacity, has fallen into disrepair from decades of neglect and inadequate funding.

Things came to a head when the Pearl River flooded, crippling the O.B. Curtis Water Plant. The result: there was little to no pressure to pump water into homes or businesses. But not having sufficient water pressure or clean water for drinking, bathing and flushing toilets was nothing new for Jackson’s citizens. The city was already under a boil water advisory for the better part of a month.

In the week since Jackson’s water woes became national news, the tension between Lumumba, who is Black and a Democrat, and Reeves, who is white and Republican, has been on full display. Last Thursday, when the two elected officials appeared together for the first time during the crisis, it made headlines. Originally, the mayor wasn’t invited to attend the governor’s presser.

But on Friday, any semblance of unity evaporated when the mayor’s office announced the two officials would appear together at a Friday press conference. They did not and the governor’s office accused Lumumba’s office of spreading “misinformation.”

“I do believe that there was a simple misunderstanding,” Lumumba told The Recast. Still, he does not deny the tensions between the two. Their relationship, he says, “has not fully formed.” But he points out that he’s open to a rapprochement: “I can’t ask for them to come and when they’re here be fighting with them simultaneously.”

In my conversation with Lumumba over the weekend, we chopped it up about what he says is repeated state and federal disinvestment in Jackson's infrastructure and whether race played a role in the city’s water crisis.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

THE RECAST: It's been several days since you declared an emergency for the city. Where do things stand and how are the residents of Jackson faring?

LUMUMBA: I do have good news to report. We are seeing gains in [water] tanks that have not registered in days.

But there's a long way to go.

Those are pipes that are brittle and old and aged and certainly past their lifecycle that will now rupture because we're increasing pressure through those pipes. They're unequipped to deal with it. So that becomes a thing that we have to balance.

THE RECAST: On the one hand, you say you're seeing gains, but you're also raising the specter that these same gains may or will cause additional issues down the line. So how soon do you think the emergency declaration can be lifted?

LUMUMBA: Well, I think that that is a nuanced answer. And what I would say is, if your question is, how soon do we think that we can restore pressure to residents? And how soon could we see the lifting of the boil water notice? I think that we are a matter of mere days away from that.

However, the fear I have is that we'll be lured into a place of comfort and belief that the crisis is now beyond this. And that won't be true. Because we'll still have a plant that's in a fragile state. We'll still have several points of failure within the plant because equipment that needs to be replaced – equipment that in some instances never functioned as it should have from the very beginning.

THE RECAST: There’s a back-and-forth about who should shoulder the responsibility for the crisis. There’s finger-pointing in each direction, but you and Gov. Tate Reeves have to work together in this instance. So what is your relationship with the governor like?

LUMUMBA: There's a long record of what my position has been and the need from the state. And to be fair, that's more than the governor, to support the city of Jackson and its needs. That remains unchanged.

Now, in the midst of this crisis, when state officials came and joined me [early last week], I shared that we will have open arms and we would welcome them into the city and welcome them to support our team, which has been going it alone for more than two years.

From our side, we’ve always communicated that we needed this coalition and we needed to focus on restoring water. So even when it’s been lobbed up to me to take a shot here and there, I've avoided that.

I desire ongoing dialogue with the governor. I believe in operational unity. I believe we can come together and identify what our common needs and objectives are, instead of our differences for the benefit of progress.

THE RECAST: You’ve spoken about disinvestment in Jackson's water system, among other things. But it feels like it's impossible to take race out of the equation.

How much do you think that the fact that Jackson [being] a majority-Black city run by Black officials contributes to lack of investments, either from the state or the federal level?

LUMUMBA: I've spoken extensively about that. And I'm not letting anybody off the hook.

However, there comes a moment in which you prioritize where we are in this process and what the narrative has to be. The narrative at this point has to be that everybody worked towards a common end and objective to get this system repaired.

You're no fool. I'm no fool. We know that race is a real construct, a real challenge and a part of America's history from the very start. And that's no different today. I'm not bashful in saying that.

So maybe this is a moment that we can push back on that narrative. Maybe this is a moment that we can prove our detractors wrong on both sides. Those people feel that I can’t work with the governor: this is a moment that I can show I'm willing to work with whoever's willing to work with me.

THE RECAST: We're also seeing residents wonder about why they should be paying water bills if the water ain't working. Folks saying, ‘It's shut off, it’s not drinkable, why are we being charged for this?’

LUMUMBA: Absolutely, that's the catch-22 the city finds itself in.

We're unable to make the repairs and do anything for the system if we don't have revenue coming in to support it. So without that tariff that is placed on people, then it is a problem that there is no solution in sight for.

I come out of organizing. I come out of recognizing all these areas of exploitation of our community. So I certainly understand the sentiment, even agree with the premise. But that isn't operating in reality. Without the money from the community, they won't be able to have relief to their challenge.

Power dynamics are changing. With The Recast, you'll get a twice-weekly breakdown of how race and identity are the DNA of American politics and policy.

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MASSACHUSETTS PRIMARY CONTESTS TO WATCH

There are a pair of hotly contested races in the Bay State as the primary election season winds to a close.

On the Democratic side, the statewide contest garnering the most intrigue is the race to become the next Massachusetts top cop. Andrea Campbell, former president of the Boston City Council — who was the third-place finisher for Boston’s race for mayor last year — is facing off against Shannon Liss-Riordan, a workers’ rights attorney who's poured $9.3 million of her own money into her campaign.

Liss-Riordan has the endorsements of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the former acting mayor of Boston, Kim Janey, in a contest that's dividing the state's top progressive politicians and activist groups.

For much of the primary, it was a three-person race.

That was until Quentin Palfrey quit the race and threw his support behind Campbell, as my colleague Lisa Kashinsky reported inMassachusetts Playbook last week.

Campbell, who if elected would be the first Black woman to hold the position, already had the backing of Massachusetts’ other Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Maura Healey, the state’s current AG, who is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination for governor.

If she prevails in November, Healey would be the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts and the nation’s first openly lesbian governor. She will face the winner of Tuesday's GOP gubernatorial primary. Former state Rep. Geoff Diehl, who has the backing of former President Donald Trump, is facing off against wealthy businessman and first-time candidate Chris Doughty.

Incumbent Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, announced late last year he would not seek a third term, despite being one of the most popular governors in the country.

PICTURE THIS

It’s been a decade since it last happened. But a White House tradition will soon be restored.

On Wednesday, President Biden will welcome his former boss, Barack Obama, and his wife, Michelle, back to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. for the unveiling of their official White House portraits.

The tradition was dormant during the years of the Trump White House.

These events are typically light, with the current president getting a few humorous barbs in at their predecessor. During the most recent unveiling ceremony, in May 2012, then-President Obama hosted George W. Bush and his wife, Laura. Obama joked that one of the things Bush left behind for him was “a really good TV sports package.”

Given Biden served all eight years as Obama’s veep, expect some good-natured needling of 44 from the current commander in chief.

ICYMI @ POLITICO

Vulnerable Democrat – Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office secured convictions of former Minneapolis police officers for the murder of George Floyd, may now be one of the must vulnerable Democrats in the state. More from POLITICO’s David Siders.

The drama over student debt relief is fierce — and far from over. Don’t miss this episode of The POLITICO Show on Snapchat featuring Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Think you know politics? Wanna bet? Check out this intriguing story from POLITICO’s Declan Harty about a company trying to carve out a path to allow bettors to wager on elections.

THE RECAST RECOMMENDS

In his new memoir, “Solito,” Salvadoran poet Javier Zamora recounts his harrowing trek to the U.S. as a 9-year-old. Alone. The trip almost killed him.

Also on our list to read: “Scenes from My Life,” the new memoir by the late, great actor Michael K. Williams, who died one year ago today.

We’re suckers for mysteries, particularly of the non-gory variety, so we’ll definitely be checking out “Recipes for Love and Murder,” set in Cape Town, South Africa and starring Maria Doyle Kennedy as a local food writer and Kylie Fisher as an intrepid reporter.

“Fou de toi (Chapada de você),” a collab between Brazilian singer ÀIYÉ and the French duo BB9NDBK, is a vibe.

Here’s a breakdown of the 24 up-and-coming comics that should be on your radar.

Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall star in the new movie, “Honk For Jesus, Save Your Soul,” a satirical look at a megachurch.

Nicki Minaj is back. And she’s a “Super Freaky Girl.”

TikTok of the Day:It’s just not adding up.