Menin to announce major support in City Council speaker race

New York City Council Speaker candidate Julie Menin is expected to announce a major slate of support as soon as Wednesday, with coveted endorsements from labor unions including the United Federation of Teachers, 32BJ SEIU and continued support from the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council, according to several sources with knowledge of the matter. That could come alongside endorsements from many of her City Council colleagues – possibly even that coveted 26-vote majority needed to secure the speakership. 

It was unclear as of late Tuesday night whether a list of members or an undetailed assertion that she has the 26 required votes would be included in the planned release, but officially securing a majority of members is something Menin has been gunning hard for. So far, Council Members Shaun Abreu, Kevin Riley and Joann Ariola have confirmed their support for her on the record.

But even on their own the labor endorsements would be strong validators for Menin. Those could put Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in a tricky position, as the unions were major endorsers of Mamdani’s campaign in the general election. Mamdani has not publicly weighed in on the speaker’s race, but is expected to get involved somehow, as previous mayors have, to indicate his preference. Most assume he would not prefer Menin, who is more moderate and placed emphasis on her ability to be a check on mayoral power – though she says she’d work with him on issues like universal child care. But Mamdani has also not publicly indicated a preference for any of the other candidates in the race. Those currently include Brooklyn Council Member Crystal Hudson, who is seen as a front-runner next to Menin, Bronx Council Member Amanda Farías, Manhattan Council Member Chris Marte and Queens Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers. 

There is pressure among the non-Menin candidates to consolidate to improve their chances of beating her. This week, the Working Families Party held a call with Hudson, Farías, Marte and Brooks-Powers to discuss strategy and urge consolidation, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the conversation.

Separately, Hudson, Farías and Marte also met on Monday night to discuss the race. Marte said that no decisions were made in that meeting.

Neither Menin nor spokespeople for UFT, 32BJ SEIU, or Mamdani responded to requests for comment on Tuesday night.

After slow movement in the internal speaker’s race after the post-election Somos conference in Puerto Rico, Menin and Hudson have been trying to lock up the majority votes they need to clinch the job. The race, which is largely decided behind closed doors, has typically been settled  in December. Close watchers of the race expected some movement next week or the following week, but say Menin’s campaign has been acting with urgency to seal a winning coalition ahead of the new year.