The city’s Democratic county organizations and its supporters are bracing for political warfare after Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio began pushing Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito’s candidacy as the next City Council speaker, Politicker’s Ross Barkan – who covered the race for speaker ever since – reports.
“This is going to be an all-out war,” a source in one of the county organizations told Politicker. “De Blasio is bullying members to go with Melissa. The new members are really afraid. But most county leaders and veteran council members want anyone but Melissa.”
“The mayor-elect was banging the table. That’s what is making it hard. What are we supposed to tell them? Screw you? Not the easiest thing in the world to say,” one source told Capital’s Sally Goldenberg.
According to Capital New York, Mr. de Blasio and his surrogates are targeting several Brooklyn members perceived to be willing to break from the county’s leadership, in an effort to rally support behind Melissa Mark-Viverito. “They’re going after independents and people they feel like are soft with (Brooklyn) county,” said one source who is close to the process. Members being targeted by both sides include Robert Cornegy, Mark Treyger, and Chaim Deutsch, according to several sources.
Mr. de Blasio’s team is also spending time today speaking with county leaders like Queens Democratic chair Joe Crowley and Brooklyn’s Frank Seddio about the race.
The attempt to reach out to those at the top comes after those who who were briefed on the process pointed to a clear rift between Mr. de Blasio and the leaders–who have traditionally played an outsized role in the selection of a council speaker–further complicating the selection process.
“The overall supposition was that Bill de Blasio could call the shots if he wanted to, but that he wouldn’t do that. That ultimately he’d want to play ball and make nice with everyone,” said a Democrat with knowledge of the county’s thinking. “Now that that isn’t coming true, they are panicking.”
A possible ceasefire is likely to bring in Councilman Dan Garodnick as the compromise candidates, a source told YWN.
Another source aware of the county leaders’s thinking told Politicker that Mr. Crowley, Mr. Heastie and Mr. Seddio are discussing uniting around Manhattan Councilman Dan Garodnick as a “compromise” candidate, passing over Mark Weprin, another front-runner, who is aligned with the Queens organization.
“The county leaders are very likely to push back with Dan Garodnick. Their thinking on that is that they still believe Brooklyn has about eight votes; Queens ten; the Bronx seven … Garodnick picks up some Progressive [bloc] votes and they get somewhere in the mid 30s. That’s the play,” one of the sources told Politicker. “They’ll come back to de Blasio and say, ‘We see your Melissa Mark-Viverito, we call it with Dan Garodnick.’”
NY1’s Courtney Gross tweeted earlier today, “sources tell us @MMViverito has secured support of progressive bloc and members claim she has a majority for @nyccouncil #speaker.”
(Jacob Kornbluh- YWN)
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One Response
“Members being targeted by both sides include Robert Cornegy,Mark Treyger and Chaim Deutsch”.
I am sure that many Incumbents, including David Greenfeld are also being “TARGETED” by both sides.