A new element in the City Council speaker’s race: members-only candidate forums

Over the next two days, the six candidates for New York City Council speaker will appear at forums held by council members and for council members. “This is about information and ensuring that we have all of it so that we can make the best decision,” said Council Member Althea Stevens. Earlier this month, Stevens and Council Member Lincoln Restler organized a closed-door meeting where around 30 Democratic members and likely new members showed up to discuss the process of how the council should choose its next leader. The idea to hold forums with speaker candidates came out of that meeting. 

All speaker candidates are expected to attend the forums taking place on Wednesday and Thursday. Candidates for the position include Council Members Julie Menin, Crystal Hudson, Carmen De La Rosa, Amanda Farías, Chris Marte and Selvena Brooks-Powers.

Technically, the speaker is chosen by a majority vote of the body’s 51 members. In practice, outside institutions including labor unions, county parties and the incoming mayor have traditionally held sway or made their preferences known. Some council members have expressed interest in reducing outside influence in the race this year and making it more “member driven” – a topic that came up at that first closed-door meeting. Others argue that the race is already driven by the members. Running for the job involves extensive outreach to council members, but it typically involves making your case to those outside stakeholders too.

Attendees of that first meeting weren’t aligned behind or against a single candidate. They included members who are thought of as loyal to county machines and those expected to vote with members of the council’s progressive caucus.

Stevens said the forums are just about the body doing its due diligence. “Last time it was 34 new members, and we were in the process of getting to know each other,” Stevens said of the 2021 race. “We’re at a place (now) where we’ve worked together for four years and had some pretty big fights with the administration. I think we want to just make sure that we’re all on the same page. That should be the expectation: that council members are working together.” 

Council Member Gale Brewer, who ran for speaker last cycle and served in the council for two terms before that, said she’s happy to see the forums come together. “This is the first time I’ve seen this kind of effort,” she said, recalling that there may have been forums held by outside groups in the past, but not by council members themselves. “I think it’s excellent.”