THE NEW YORK TIMES: Who will be Mamdani’s city council partner? Get ready for a battle

At the Caribe Hilton’s signature steakhouse, where the 16-ounce New York strip goes for $69, the arrival of certain dignitaries from New York City was noted with fanfare.

Shaun Abreu, a Manhattan City Council member, shouted out the names of fellow council members, current and future, an aide dutifully jotting them down.

By the end of the night Thursday, the list numbered 27 — many, perhaps, supporting the event’s host, council member Julie Menin, and her bid to become the new council speaker.

In another part of the beachfront resort, a similar reception was simultaneously held on behalf of the other leading candidate for speaker, council member Crystal Hudson. It was hosted by Richard R. Buery Jr., CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, an anti-poverty group, and Twyla Carter, head of the Legal Aid Society.

Hudson’s event also attracted 27 council members, with some hustling over to hit both receptions. Hudson’s guest list included Adrienne Adams, the current speaker whose term is expiring because of term limits.

Much of the attention at Somos, an annual gathering in San Juan of New York’s political class, was directed toward Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City. Adulation followed him to Puerto Rico, where he pledged to deliver on his affordability agenda in front of a cheering crowd under soaring palm trees.

But for Mamdani to follow through, he will need capable partners, and that starts with the next council speaker.

The speaker race has been contentious, and the tension grew over the weekend at the tropical political getaway. Mamdani dodged questions about whom he supports for the job, and it is not clear if he will publicly back someone.

The decision is made by the 51-member council, which will vote to pick a speaker in January. Several people are interested in the position, but the contest appears to have narrowed to Menin, from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and Hudson, from central Brooklyn.

Both are Democrats. Menin, who did not endorse a mayoral candidate, is viewed as a moderate and was endorsed by The New York Post; Hudson is a member of the council’s progressive caucus who endorsed Mamdani.

Hudson, 42, was one of the first outwardly gay Black women elected in New York. She has a 2-year-old daughter and said that she wants to help Mamdani carry out his affordability agenda, including universal child care.

But she said that the ouncil was a “coequal branch of government” and would have an important oversight role to monitor the Mamdani administration.

“We’re not always going to agree on everything,” Hudson said. “I think it’s really important as the speaker to stand with members in those moments of disagreement, and to do so in a respectful way that ensures we maintain a productive working relationship.”

Menin, 58, said she had a “productive conversation” with Mamdani shortly before the election and wants to work with him on child care and affordable housing. She has held several prominent roles in city government and pointed to her work in former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to fight President Donald Trump as the director of the census.

“I’m ready to unite the council and work with the mayor to create a more affordable city that can also withstand the challenges we face from Washington,” she said.

Menin would be the first Jewish speaker, and some Jewish leaders hope that she could serve as a counterbalance to Mamdani, who will be the city’s first Muslim mayor and whose criticism of Israel worried some Jewish voters. Menin, whose mother and grandmother survived the Holocaust, has worked on efforts to combat antisemitism.

Union leaders and two powerful members of Congress, Gregory Meeks and Adriano Espaillat, mingled inside Morton’s The Steakhouse to show their support for Menin. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, an influential union, told the crowd that Menin’s experience in government could help Mamdani “get stuff done.”

“People around the country are going to be rooting for our mayor-elect to fail,” she said. “You need to have people in the City Council who are going to be working side by side with him.”

Other members in the running include Amanda Farías, a council member from the Bronx who serves as majority leader, Selvena Brooks-Powers, a council member from Queens, and Chris Marte, a council member from Manhattan.

Another contender, Carmen De La Rosa, an ally of Mamdani, recently dropped out of the race and backed Hudson in an effort to unite progressive members. De La Rosa, who is from the Dominican Republic and represents neighborhoods in northern Manhattan with many immigrants, said Hudson understood her neighbors.

“As women of color, we know what is at stake in this moment — a federal administration that is standing on the necks of the most vulnerable communities like mine,” she said.

Diana Ayala, a departing council member, publicly criticized Menin at a party Friday night in a video that circulated online. She claimed that Menin had questioned whether Ayala was smart enough to run for speaker in 2021. Menin denied her account and said, “We should be uplifting women, not tearing each other down.”

Ayala, who once lived in a homeless shelter, said afterward that she was part of the “Anybody But Julie” effort and that Menin did not understand the concerns of working-class New Yorkers.

Several council members defended Menin and gave her their support. Kevin Riley, who represents working-class neighborhoods in the Bronx, said she was “extremely helpful” in his district. Linda Lee and Sandra Ung, two council members from Queens, praised her efforts to pass a bill to improve working conditions for hotel workers.

Several new council members were elected last week. When they take office in January, there will be five Republicans on the council and 46 Democrats.

Unions and party leaders often play a major role in the decision. Menin has support from the powerful Hotel & Gaming Trades Council, which endorsed Mamdani. Hudson was spotted Friday meeting with Henry Garrido, the leader of District Council 37.

Other signs of speaker intrigue were visible. On Friday afternoon, the party leaders of the city’s four major Democratic counties — Keith L. Wright of Manhattan, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn of Brooklyn, Meeks of Queens and Jamaal Bailey of the Bronx — huddled at an out-of-the-way table discussing the dynamics of the speaker’s race. But they clammed up when a reporter approached.

“This is like Mount Rushmore,” Wright said in a deep baritone. “Not going to say anything.”

Mamdani would probably prefer to have a speaker who is aligned with his left-leaning views. But when Eric Adams, the outgoing mayor, backed a speaker candidate four years ago, it did not end well and strained his relationship with the ouncil.

The mayor-elect is staying out of the race for now. When reporters asked him in Puerto Rico on Saturday about his preference, he said he had met with all the speaker candidates.

“I respect the council and the deliberations that they are making,” he said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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