Manhattan City Council Member Julie Menin appears poised to become the second-most powerful elected official in New York City.
If so, her budgetary power, reputation as a political moderate, and influence over zoning are all factors incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani will need to contend with either contentiously or cooperatively.
Menin announced just before Thanksgiving that she had secured enough votes to become the next City Council speaker when the city’s legislature convenes on Jan. 7, a week after Mamdani is sworn in as New York’s 111th mayor on Jan. 1.
Those concerned about Mamdani’s democratic socialist platform can take heart in knowing that Menin is a much more moderate elected official, and could serve as the bulwark the city needs to check Mamdani’s actions and prevent him from overreaching his power.
In short, she is the right person for the right job at the right time.
The City Council speaker’s role is critical. As head of the chamber, the speaker sets the legislative agenda and, most importantly, works closely with the mayor on hammering out annual balanced budgets.
Mayor-elect Mamdani has made numerous lofty promises to, in his view, make the city more affordable — including freezing rent on rent-stabilized apartments, enacting free universal childcare, and launching a fare-free bus system. He also wants to establish a new Department of Community Safety to address mental health issues and other quality-of-life matters, shifting those duties away from the NYPD.
As a speaker, Menin can work with Mamdani on advancing that agenda while ensuring that the programs are not only funded but also do not grow the city’s already challenging $116 billion budget and further burden the city’s tax base.
She brings tremendous management skills from her previous service as chair of Manhattan Community Board 1, which was influential in the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site after 9/11, as well as her membership on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board and as commissioner of the Department of Consumer Affairs under Mayor Bill de Blasio. In fact, she has far more experience in NYC government than Mamdani.
For that reason alone, he would be wise to work with Menin, should she become speaker. With her as a willing partner, he wins an important ally in a campaign to advance an affordability agenda that uplifts millions of people who desperately need help while also keeping costs in check and limiting bureaucracy.
As speaker, she can lead the chamber when necessary to stand against the Mamdani administration. We have seen, in recent mayoralties, efforts to minimize the Council’s influence by seeking end-arounds through charter revision committees and executive orders to circumvent actions that may not win the favor of the city’s elected legislators.
Should Mamdani take a similar path, we have every confidence that a Speaker Menin can take a strong stand for the legislative branch of city government, and to protect the people’s best interests.
