Metropolis Council Member Julie Menin mentioned Wednesday that she had secured sufficient help amongst colleagues to develop into the subsequent speaker of the New York Metropolis Council when the brand new session begins in January.
The Higher East Facet council member mentioned she has obtained public commitments from 36 present and incoming Council members — 10 greater than the 26-vote required majority — giving her what she known as a “supermajority” backing.
Menin can be the primary Jewish girl ever elected to the speaker submit. Her anticipated election to the workplace on Jan. 7 will come on the heels of Zohran Mamdani taking workplace as the primary Muslim mayor in New York Metropolis historical past on Jan. 1.
The coalition, she mentioned, contains members from all 5 boroughs, in addition to labor unions together with the Resort & Gaming Trades Council, 32BJ SEIU, the United Federation of Lecturers, and the New York Metropolis District Council of Carpenters.
“I am honored and humbled by the trust and faith that my colleagues have put in me to lead the City Council as a force of action for New York families,” Menin mentioned in an announcement.
She added that she expects to work intently with Mayor-elect Mamdani’s administration on an agenda centered on affordability, together with common childcare, reducing lease and healthcare prices, and bettering the standard of life.
Metropolis Council Member Julie Menin talking at a Nov. 25 listening to.William Alatriste/NYC Council Media Unit
Menin mentioned her high precedence on the head of the chamber can be supporting Council members in serving their districts and securing sources for his or her communities.
Representatives for Mayor-elect Mamdani didn’t reply to requests for touch upon Menin’s declaration on the time of publication.
Menin seen as ‘common sense voice’
These backing Menin’s bid mentioned they have been doing so primarily based on her expertise, management, and dedication to working households, highlighting her a long time of public service, together with her work as a Council member, two-time NYC commissioner, small enterprise proprietor, and Neighborhood Board chair.
“Julie is tough, principled, and relentlessly focused on delivering for working families,” mentioned Council Member Shaun Abreu.
Council Member Erik Bottcher added, “She is a proven leader who delivers real results, champions transparency, and knows how to bring people together to solve the toughest problems facing our city.”
Council Member James Gennaro, the Council’s longest-serving lively member, emphasised Menin’s capability to unite the physique: “Julie possesses the qualities and capabilities the Council and town want — nice management, in depth expertise, deep respect from the Members, a dedication to equity, and the power to undertaking the facility of the Council as a co-equal accomplice alongside the manager department.
Republican members of the council, like Vickie Paladino, known as Menin “an able leader and trusted colleague… someone who listens and understands all perspectives,” whereas Inna Vernikov framed Menin because the “common sense voice we need in city government” to take care of oversight and accountability.
Menin additionally earned the backing of main labor unions, together with the Resort & Gaming Trades Council, 32BJ SEIU, the United Federation of Lecturers, and the New York Metropolis District Council of Carpenters.
“Julie has the experience and commitment needed to meet this moment, and to work alongside Mayor-Elect Mamdani to create a better, stronger, and more affordable city for all hardworking New Yorkers,” mentioned Wealthy Maroko of the Resort & Gaming Trades Council.
Marianne Pizzitola, president of the NYC Group of Public Retirees, congratulated Menin on her obvious election to the speaker submit.
“We look forward to engaging in the democratic process with her and Council Member Christopher Marte in passing Intro 1096 to protect our Retirees Traditional Medicare Benefits and getting them out of the current medical affordability crisis,” she added.
‘We came up short’
The speaker is accountable for overseeing the Council’s legislative agenda and performs a major position in figuring out which payments are superior for a vote. The place additionally serves as a central liaison between the Council, the mayor’s workplace, and different metropolis companies.
Along with managing laws, the speaker serves because the Council’s public voice, advocating for residents and weighing in on broad metropolis points akin to housing, transit, colleges, and public security.
With outgoing Speaker Adrienne Adams term-limited, a number of Council members had entered the race to succeed her, together with Majority Chief Amanda Farías of District 18, Christopher Marte of District 1, and Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers of District 31.
After Menin’s announcement, Brooks-Powers acknowledged she wouldn’t have the votes to win. In an announcement, she mentioned she entered public service to make sure “working people shouldn’t be squeezed out of their own neighborhoods” and ran for speaker to assist make New York “a place where everyday people can thrive.”
“Unfortunately, we came up short,” she mentioned, congratulating Menin on securing the help wanted for the speakership and thanking colleagues for what she described as a deliberative course of. Brooks-Powers mentioned she seems ahead to working with the brand new speaker, the mayor, and her fellow members “as we fight to enact an agenda that centers working people and as we strive for a safer, more affordable city for all.”
One of many earliest contenders within the Speaker race, Christopher Marte, additionally congratulated Menin, saying he trusts her management to implement the reforms that have been the driving power behind his marketing campaign.
“Most importantly, I look forward to finally delivering justice to the thousands of women of color in NYC who are working inhumane 24-hour shifts. Julie is the candidate I trust most to deliver these women justice and pass the No More 24 Act in the first quarter of next year,” mentioned Marte.
Nevertheless, it was Brooklyn’s Crystal Hudson who emerged as Menin’s strongest opponent, with 1199SEIU even throwing its appreciable weight behind her bid simply hours earlier than Menin declared her tremendous majority.
“Crystal Hudson is a champion for organized labor who always puts the needs of hardworking New Yorkers at the forefront of her advocacy, and we are honored to support her bid to become the next Speaker of the New York City Council,” Yvonne Armstrong, president of the highly effective healthcare employees union, mentioned early Wednesday.
Hudson’s workforce didn’t reply to requests for touch upon whether or not the Council Member meant to concede to the race.
The Actual Property Board of New York (REBNY), which has opposed the Mayor-elect’s marketing campaign promise of a lease freeze for town’s stabilized items, welcomed Menin’s obvious path to the speakership. The group has argued that such a freeze would elevate prices for town’s 1.1 million market-rate items.
“Councilmember Menin is an accomplished public servant with a demonstrated record of leadership. We are confident she will lead the Council with vision and pragmatism and advance housing and economic growth policies that will strengthen communities across the city,” mentioned James Whelan, REBNY president.
