Speaker’s Race, Continued

We spoke with Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez about the selection of the next council speaker.  Rodriguez is a member of the progressive bloc and a strong supporter of Melissa Mark-Viverito.  We spoke outside the National Action Network’s House of Justice, following a visit by Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio and his police commissioner designee, Bill Bratton.

Be sure to watch our coverage of all seven speaker forums, held on Staten Island, in Manhattan at the Talking Transition Tent, Baruch College and New York Law School, as well as in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Jackson Heights. Our coverage includes conversations with many council members/member-elects about the selection process, including, in addition to Ydanis Rodriguez, Vincent Ignizio, Steve Matteo, Debi Rose, Corey Johnson, Karen Koslowitz, Andrew Cohen, Brad Lander, Carlos Menchaca, Ritchie Torrres and Helen Rosenthal.

Transition Update – Public Advocate-elect James (Updated)

We spoke with Public Advocate-elect Letitia James about her transition and plans for the office of Public Advocate.  James had just completed a town hall at York College.

Update – Wills & Friends:

As James’s arrival was delayed, Council Member Ruben Wills held the floor for about 20 minutes.  Among those he introduced were State Senator Malcolm Smith and State Assembly Member Vivian Cook.

Quinn on a Successor (Updated)

At a City Hall press conference this afternoon, Capital New York reporter Sally Goldenberg asked outgoing Council Speaker Christine Quinn for her thoughts on the prospect of the council selecting a speaker who does not support marriage equality.  Here is Speaker Quinn’s response.

Update – Williams:

Earlier, we asked Council Member and speaker contender Jumaane Williams about the weight that his fellow council members should give to his positions on marriage equality and abortion rights in selecting the next speaker.  Williams is alone among the announced speaker contenders in opposing both.

de Blasio & Bratton At the House of Justice (Updated)

Today Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio and his police commissioner-to-be Bill Bratton attended a Nelson Mandela commemoration at the National Action Network’s House of Justice.  Hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton, the commemoration also included Congressmen Charles Rangel and Gregory Meeks and Council Members Mark Weprin, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Ydanis Rodriguez and Jumaane Williams.

Here is Bill de Blasio’s full speech.

Update – Sharpton & Bratton:

The Rev. Al Sharpton gave a powerful introduction of Bill Bratton.  Here is full video of Sharpton’s introduction and Bratton’s speech.

de Blasio Press Q&A – Shorris Appointment

Today Bill de Blasio announced the first appointments for his administration.  Anthony Shorris will be first deputy mayor, Dominic Williams will be chief of staff to Shorris and Emma Wolfe will be Director of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Following statements by de Blasio, Shorris, Williams and Wolfe, de Blasio answered questions from the press.  Topics included the role of de Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, in making these appointments, the anticipated structure of de Blasio’s administration and whether all commissioners will report to Shorris, de Blasio’s strategy for seeking Albany approval of his proposed tax increase to fund pre-K programs and Anthony Shorris’s part-time consulting work during a prior stint as a full time city employee.

Here is the complete press Q&A.

Lhota Post-Mortem: Chapter One

Let’s be clear, and fair:  The mayoral odds were overwhelmingly stacked against Joe Lhota.  Voter registration and demographics alone put him at an enormous disadvantage, giving him little chance of winning.  Absent a campaign collapse by Bill de Blasio exceeding that of Weiner and Quinn combined, a Lhota victory was improbable.

Lhota nonetheless missed a significant opportunity.  He was slow to accept and capitalize on the notion that he needed to convince voters that, despite safe streets and a fairly stable economy, a crisis was brewing and that Lhota would be the right choice to avoid it. When he did accept that notion, he chose the wrong crisis. Continue reading Lhota Post-Mortem: Chapter One

de Blasio Q&A

This afternoon Bill de Blasio held a press conference to announce a working group intended to implement his plan for universal pre-K education.  Following his presentation, he took questions from the press.  Full video of his press Q&A follows:

Where the Wild Things Are:  Immediately before his press conference, de Blasio read Where the Wild Things Are to a pre-K class.  Video of his reading tour de force is here.

Wild Thing, Wild Rumpus: A Day in the de Blasio Transition

“Let the wild rumpus start!” said the mayor-elect today.

As part of his rollout of a campaign to develop his pre-K plan, Bill de Blasio read Where the Wild Things Are to a pre-K class at the Northside Center for Child Development this afternoon.  It was a good reading; engaged with his audience, a few jokes for the press, a great story with a couple of easy metaphors and some memorable lines like “wild rumpus”.

Update – press Q&A:

de Blasio held a press conference immediately after this reading.  Video of his press Q&A is available here.

Family Business

Council Member, and speaker contender, Mark Weprin has a long family history in politics and government.  His late father, Saul Weprin, was speaker of the New York State Assembly.  Mark Weprin was elected to fill his father’s assembly seat, serving for 15 years before being elected to the City Council.  Mark’s brother David currently serves in the Assembly, having previously been a member of the City Council.

Following a speaker candidate forum at New York Law School, I asked Mark Weprin how his father’s experience as speaker of the Assembly informs or influences how Mark thinks about the similar position of City Council speaker.  With his brother standing by his side, Mark Weprin shared some thoughts.

Bronx County Chair Heastie re Council Speaker Selection

As he entered a meeting of the New York State Assembly Democratic Conference with Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, Bronx County Chairman and NYS Assembly Member Carl Heastie briefly answered questions about the selection of the next city council speaker.  While he does not have a vote in the selection, he is widely expected to exercise significant  influence in the selection in his role as Chairman of the Bronx County Democratic Committee.  The Bronx has eight councilmanic districts, and part of a ninth, with all seats held by Democrats.

Ross Barkan of Politicker.com questioned Heastie.

de Blasio Press Conference

Bill de Blasio held a press conference this afternoon in City Hall Park, following his meeting with the New York State Assembly Democratic conference to discuss his pre-K/middle school proposal.  According to de Blasio, his plan was “very warmly received” by the Assembly Democrats.  With his soon-to-be office behind him, de Blasio answered questions on other topics, including his expected administration appointments, the Metro North train crash and Mayor Bloomberg’s reaction and his family’s decision on living in Gracie Mansion.  Here is full video of the press conference.

Speaker Selection: The Staten Island Bipartisan Edition (Updated x 2)

Tonight the speaker candidate forum road show rolled out to Staten Island, with the seven publicly declared contenders appearing together for the sixth, and presumably final, time. For the first time, Republican council members joined as hosts.  Ben Max, of DecideNYC.com, moderated.

Three of the 51 incoming City Council members will be Republicans, with two of those three representing Staten Island.  So few in number that they have virtually no influence simply through their numbers, the Republican council members nonetheless have managed to succeed and maintain a presence exceeding what their tiny minority would be expected to generate.  In the selection of the next speaker, they may well be irrelevant.  If, however, the selection is a close race decided by a floor vote the three Republicans could be a meaningful bloc.

After tonight’s forum we spoke with Vincent Ignizio, a Republican council member just elected to his third term, about the role, if any, that council Republicans may play in the selection and about his view of the race.

Update – Steven Matteo:

We also spoke with Steven Matteo, Staten Island’s second Republican member of the city  council.  I began by asking Matteo for his reaction to the speaker candidate public forums.

Update #2 – Debi Rose:

We spoke with Debi Rose, Staten Island’s sole Democratic member of the City Council.  Rose described her high regard for many of the speaker aspirants and lamented the challenge of choosing among them.  The public forums have caused Rose to expand the list of candidates that she personally is open to, although she notes that she is committed to voting with the “Progressive Bloc.”  We also discussed the Progressive Bloc’s timing and the reaction of council members not part of the Progressive Bloc as the Bloc has organized itself.

Be sure to watch our coverage of all five prior forums, held in Manhattan at the Talking Transition Tent and Baruch College, in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Jackson Heights.  Our coverage includes conversations with many council members/member-elects about the selection process, including, in addition to Ignizio, Matteo and Rose, Corey Johnson, Karen Koslowitz, Andrew Cohen, Brad Lander, Carlos Menchaca, Ritchie Torrres and Helen Rosenthal.

Speaker Selection: The Talking Transition Tent Edition (Updated x 2)

Last night the council speaker forum series rolled into the Talking Transition tent for a forum moderated by Errol Louis and Juan Manuel Benitez and broadcast live on NY1 and NY1 Noticias.

Here’s an insightful question asked by Louis:  Describe one piece of legislation that you think speaks most directly to why you would be a good city council speaker?  Their answers:

Weprin:  Workplace Religious Freedom Act.

Vacca:  Pregnancy Rights Act.

Palma:   a bill to provide shelters with adequate food and supplies in the event of a future severe storm (not specifically named in her answer).

Mark-Viverito:  ICE Out of Rikers.

Garodnick:  Tenant Protection Act.

Dickens:  a bill centralizing plumbing complaints to the Department of Buildings (not specifically named in her answer).

Update – Corey Johnson:

We spoke with Council Member-elect Corey Johnson about the public forums, the speaker selection process and the progressive bloc’s timing and process.

Update #2 – Full Forum:

Here is the full forum:


Be sure to watch our coverage from the prior forums held in Jackson Heights, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan.  Also watch some lighter moments from this forum here.

Insight, analysis and reporting on New York and national politics