Inside the walls of City Hall there is a race happening — it is not seen, and is only spoken about behind closed doors, but it is crucial to the future of the city — the race for council speaker.
Five candidates have thrown their names in the ring: Councilmembers Crystal Hudson, Julie Menin, Selvena Brooks-Powers, Amanda Farías and Chris Marte.
Two have emerged as favorites as of now.
“We are in a pivotal political moment. I have a proven record of standing up in hard moments,” Hudson said.
“It’s very important that a speaker and mayor work well together,” Menin said.
Hudson is a progressive from Brooklyn who has been in office since 2022. She sponsored and helped push through the police accountability bill known as the How Many Stops Act.
Earlier this week, Hudson said spoke to NY1 about her candidacy.
“We need to be able to work with the mayor and get things done, and we also need to hold him and his administration accountable. And I also want my colleagues to be able to hold me accountable,” she said.
Menin has also been in office since 2022 and is seen as a more moderate Democrat from Manhattan.
She recently passed a bill regulating hotel safety for workers and guests. Menin says she agrees with the incoming mayor on childcare and housing.
“I think that the council should be releasing an affordability plan in conjunction with the mayor looking at the 1,000 city-owned sites that DCAS, city-owned properties, that we own that are underutilized, vacant and repurpose them for affordable housing,” Menin said.
Whoever emerges as the winner will succeed current Speaker Adrienne Adams, who is term-limited. But there are some other names in the mix as well.
Brooks-Powers from Rockaway, Queens, says she’s running to be a fighter for New Yorkers. At the top of her list of priorities are housing and access to public transportation.
“In this last election, voters spoke out loud and clear. They are looking for fighters, for champions, for the issues that impact them the most. Whether they are talking about affordability, or equity or access to local government,” Brooks-Powers said.
Marte from the Lower East Side is running to make government more efficient. He laid out a comprehensive list of 26 changes to improve the council’s budgetary and legislative processes.
“My basic idea is when your bill has 26 council members, a majority of the council, it should get a hearing. When it gets 34 members, which is a veto-proof majority, then it should get to a vote,” he said.
Meanwhile, Farías, who is from the Bronx, said her tenure as the majority leader has given her the skills necessary to lead a diverse body.
“I think what I’ve learned most is how to manage the varying voices we have in the council, along with what their job is to do as representatives of the communities that elected them to lead in this body,” she said.
The winner of the race will be the candidate who emerges with 26 or more votes.