The speaker’s race—the Council’s own internal contest for electing its leadership—comes at a turbulent time, as the city attempts to rebound from the impact of the still-mutating COVID-19 virus. Each speaker sets the legislative agenda for the incoming Council and liaises between the lawmaking body and the administration.
“Disparities that we normally see in campaign fundraising were not apparent this time around in New York City,” said an analyst at the Brennan Center, which compared self-identified gender and race information for each candidate in a competitive June primary with their campaign finance records.
‘Women of color like myself have historically been marginalized from politics and public discourse. When local politicians don’t share any aspect of my identity with me, it can feel like girls like me aren’t meant to be a part of public life.’
On Sunday’s episode of City Watch on WBAI, award-winning columnist Ross Barkan and progressive political strategist Trip Yang breakdown the general election results and talk about what’s ahead next year.
After a tally of machine ballots, Joseph Kasper leads Paul Vallone, the scion of a Democratic political dynasty and a term-limited city councilmember, by more than 1,700 votes in the 3rd Municipal District, which covers a broad swath of south and central Queens.
What will an Eric Adams administration mean for New York? A look through his political past can offer one answer. City Limits has been covering City Hall’s next leader for nearly two decades. Here are some highlights.
While turnout was not particularly high across the city, GOP wins signal that moderate and conservative voters were pushed to the polls in key districts, perhaps propelled by a rejection of more progressive proposals that have become mainstream, like diverting money from the police department.
The expected win means Adams, the current Brooklyn borough president, will become the city’s second Black mayor, following David Dinkins’ historic election to the post more than three decades ago in 1989.
“Albanese might have the support of the law enforcement union, but I think more law enforcement officers would rather lick the floor of the Ferry Terminal than vote for him,” said Republican Councilmember Joe Borelli. “He’s had more positions than the Kama Sutra.”
If passed, the proposed state amendment would require lawmakers to consider the environment in making legislative decisions, and New Yorkers would be able to sue if they believe their rights to a healthy environment are being violated.