Opinion: Restore the people’s voice to City Hall

While much attention centers on the mayoral race, another consequential contest is underway: the election for speaker of the City Council, the second-most powerful office in city government.

The speaker decides which bills receive hearings, what reaches a vote and how resources are allocated. For years, that power has been negotiated behind closed doors. If we want to safeguard democracy, we have to do something about it. I’m running for speaker to bring this choice – and the powers that come with it – into the open.

I released my policy platform, “26 for ‘26,” to raise the bar for the speaker’s office by developing standards and processes that promote transparency, accountability and internal democracy. The function of the speaker should be to help Council members do their jobs better so New Yorkers can get the government they voted for.

Too many people are disillusioned with city government – and they should be. Inside the City Council, the outsized power of the speaker’s office generates a gridlock capable of killing good ideas even when they have the support needed to pass. When one person controls the agenda, measures with wide public backing can go nowhere, Council members cannot fully advocate for their districts and the changes people expect never materialize.

The good news is we have the power to change it. Procedures must reflect the will of Council members, and through them, the will of the people. If a bill meets a threshold of support in the Council, it should receive a hearing and a vote. That’s how a democracy should function. This would end the backroom deals and ensure that the body’s agenda is driven by consensus rather than gatekeeping.

The consequences of the current system are visible in the data and in daily life. For example, legislation to guarantee much-deserved pay for paraprofessionals in our schools has 47 co-sponsors – over 90% of the City Council – yet it hasn’t even received a hearing. When a bill with such wide support can’t get a basic hearing, the process is broken.

I know firsthand how retaliation from the speaker’s office can keep practical solutions from moving. Three of my own bills have been stopped in their tracks: one to end the cruel 24-hour workday for home attendants, another to protect Medicare for our city retirees and a third to simplify the rent-freeze application for seniors and disabled New Yorkers. None of these should be partisan or provocative. They’re about dignity, health and keeping New Yorkers in their homes. Yet when leadership punishes independence, constituents lose.

My colleagues’ bills face the same roadblocks. Comprehensive Legionnaires’ abatement legislation which would have created basic, proactive safeguards that could have gone a long way toward preventing the Harlem outbreak that claimed seven lives and sickened over 100 has stalled. Ryder’s Law, which would put an end to the inhumane and unnecessary horse-drawn carriage industry, can’t even get a hearing, despite all mayoral candidates now supporting it and bipartisan support in the Council. New Yorkers deserve a City Council that debates and answers these questions in the open.

The fear-based retaliation that’s been the crux of a speaker’s power can have damaging consequences for vulnerable populations. Reducing discretionary funds based on personal or political differences can mean everything from food pantries to vital school infrastructure projects getting cancelled. Funding for community organizations shouldn’t be held above Council members to reward loyalty or crack down on dissent. Dissent is essential to democracy.

Finally, we need to trust the people closest to the problem. Council members know their districts better than anyone. The speaker should not be making district-level decisions for Council members or substituting citywide politics for neighborhood expertise. I’m running for speaker to restore the people’s voice to City Hall. We can bring this race out of the shadows and set every member up for success so every community can thrive. The speaker’s office should amplify New Yorkers, not mute them. Let’s open the doors, turn on the lights and get to work.