This afternoon we spoke with Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito about the speaker’s race. Mark-Viverito is the leading contender, and presumptive speaker, with the public support of 30 of her 50 colleagues. Despite that public display of more than sufficient support, Queens Democratic Chairman Joe Crowley, who supports Dan Garodnick for Speaker, recently declared that the race “has a ways to go” and said that Mark-Viverito’s public display of support “reminds me a little bit of George Bush on the aircraft carrier.”
I began by asking Mark-Viverito whether she believes the race has concluded or whether Crowley or others are still actively seeking votes for any other candidates. We spoke at the swearing-in ceremony of Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, held in his Washington Heights district office.