Zoh could have a new foe.<\/p>\n
Councilwoman Julie Menin<\/a>\u00a0revealed Wednesday that she locked up \u201csuper majority\u201d support to become the City Council\u2019s next speaker \u2013 putting her on a potential collision course with incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n The 58-year-old Manhattan Democrat positioned herself as a moderate compared to the socialist Mamdani\u2019s simpatico ally Crystal Hudson (D-Brooklyn), the other front-runner in the pitched backroom battle for the council\u2019s leadership role.<\/p>\n Sources said several members of Mamdani\u2019s camp had scrambled to push city lawmakers to vote for Hudson and against Menin, but face-planted.<\/p>\n Councilwoman Julie Menin is expected to become the City Council\u2019s next speaker. LP Media<\/p>\n \u201cPeople on his team certainly seemed to want Crystal [Hudson] but I\u2019m not sure he ever did,\u201d one source said of Mamdani.<\/p>\n Menin will be the first Jewish speaker if her support holds when council members cast their actual votes in January at the start of the legislative body\u2019s new term.\u00a0<\/p>\n She proudly declared support from a diverse slate of 36 lawmakers, from progressive Yusuf Salaam (D-Bronx) to Republican council members \u2013 and broadly signaled she\u2019d work with Mamdani on his affordability cause.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this broad five-borough coalition, we stand ready to partner with Mayor-elect Mamdani\u2019s administration and deliver on a shared agenda that makes New York more affordable through universal child care, lowers rent and health care costs, and ensures that families across the City can do more than just get by,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n Menin is widely considered to be a moderating force on Zohran Mamdani\u2019s agenda. AP<\/p>\n Hudson admitted defeat as the tally became clear.<\/p>\n \u201cI have always said this should be a member driven process; and today, my colleagues have made their choice clear,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n The race to become the City Council\u2019s next speaker became a high-stakes contest between whether the legislative body would smooth the way for or provide a check against Mamdani\u2019s progressive agenda.<\/p>\n Menin is seen as a moderate compared to Mamdani ally Crystal Hudson. LP Media<\/p>\n Progressive caucus member Hudson clearly was more aligned with Mamdani\u2019s vision, making her his camp\u2019s preferred candidate \u2013 while Menin was widely seen as a likely moderating force.<\/p>\n