Christopher Marte fighting for immigrant rights| Photo via Marte’s Facebook page
NEW YORK—As the United States continues to drift toward far-right authoritarian rule, New York City is standing out as a progressive counterforce. Beyond Zohran Mamdani, the most progressive mayoral candidate the city has seen in a generation, lawmakers are also gaining prominence as the race for the next City Council Speaker grows increasingly significant.
Chris Marte, who represents District 1, has emerged as a leading contender for the job of City Council Speaker. People’s World sat down with him to discuss what New Yorkers can expect under his leadership.
PW: First off, I know you grew up in New York City. So growing up here, was there a moment that politicized you or sparked your interest in running for office?
CM: I grew up in this neighborhood, about ten blocks away. I was never really connected to politics, but I always saw its effects. As a kid, it felt like there was nothing you could do. The neighborhood was rapidly gentrifying, my dad’s bodega was priced out, and family members were pushed out by landlords, moving as far as Pennsylvania.
It wasn’t until I was studying for the LSAT that I got a flyer about anti-displacement organizing to fight four luxury towers in the Two Bridges area. A week later, I went to NMASS, a local worker center, and that experience changed everything. I realized how much power local government has over who gets to live here and what kind of developments are built. It connected the issues I saw growing up to actions I could take to make real change.
PW: To build off that, what policies are you most interested in or excited to push as a city council member?
CM: A lot of our work, both in the beginning and now, comes from my experiences growing up. Most people say that you can’t build 100% affordable housing here. But we have. We built one, the second is being built now, and we have plans for two or three more in the next year alone. We’re proving these speculators wrong, especially when it comes to building on public land, and showing that it can be done.
We’ve also done a lot of tenant organizing, stopping evictions, and putting pressure on not just bad landlords, but bad developers. We live in a time when most Democrats are saying, “build, baby, build,” without understanding the cost that it has for everyday New Yorkers, how it affects affordability, and how trickle-down economics doesn’t work in the housing market.
A lot of our work is centered on that: passing a community-based rezoning policy that was built by activists and neighbors from this community, and pushing it through City Hall to make sure we have protections for tenants who live here now and want to stay in affordable housing in the future.
PW: You spoke about tenant organizing and that partnership with the government. What does that look like to you?
CM: It looks very different in practice. We’ve been organizing against the RAD/PACT privatization of public housing. One tenant association wanted to go through that process, and we strongly opposed it. We worked with neighbors who were against it — we knocked on doors, collected petitions, and sent letters to NYCHA. We did everything we could alongside residents to stop that plan, and to this day, it’s still on hold.
We’ve also focused on passing legislation to strengthen tenant protections. Some of it is as simple as requiring landlords to post signs showing that apartments are rent-stabilized, so they can’t quietly destabilize units or raise rents illegally. We’ve passed anti-harassment measures, too.
It also comes down to funding tenant organizers. We direct budget allocations to groups like Cooper Square, a community land trust that also helps tenants form associations to stand up to bad landlords. Tenant work takes many forms, but the common thread is building power through organizing. That’s the real change we’re trying to create.
PW: This will be your second term in office. What were some things that surprised you in your first term, either positively or negatively, in the City Council?
CM: The biggest problem is how undemocratic and non-transparent the City Council is. The Speaker controls everything that gets heard, which bills move forward, and which communities get resources for school programs or public housing investments. All of that power is in the hands of one person who isn’t elected by the people of New York.
PW: Who elects the city council?
CM: Council members elect the Speaker, but it’s done through a really opaque process full of special interests and county bosses trying to control the outcome. The people who end up getting hurt are everyday New Yorkers. It shouldn’t be about political punishment, like when a member votes “no” on a budget because it gives more money to the NYPD or cuts funding for libraries and parks, and then their district loses resources as a result.
That’s the main reason I decided to run for Speaker: to change how this process works. We’re running the first fully public campaign for what’s usually an internal, closed-door position because the public deserves to know what’s happening. The people’s interests should be at the center of this conversation all the way up to the final vote.
PW: Your speaker’s race slogan is “Strengthening Democracy in City Hall.” How would you do this, and what special interests try to undermine this democratic possibility?
CM: My goal is to be a Speaker for all, someone who empowers council members to do what the people elected them to do. Right now, too much power is concentrated in one office. For example, there’s a bill in the City Council with 47 out of 51 members supporting pay raises for paraprofessionals. That’s more than 90% support, yet it still hasn’t had a hearing. Why? Because the Speaker doesn’t want it.
One reform I want is to set clear benchmarks. If a bill has support from 26 members, a simple majority, it should automatically get a hearing. If it has 34 members, a veto-proof majority, it should automatically go to a vote. Right now, advocates can get dozens of sponsors for a bill, but that doesn’t mean it will move forward. This would make the process far more transparent and democratic.
We also need to change how the budget process works. The negotiation team that deals with the mayor is currently handpicked by the Speaker, mostly close allies, which means there’s no accountability. I want members of that team to be elected by the full Council so the process represents everyone.
Too often, the real budget fight happens in the final three weeks, when the public has no idea what’s on the chopping block. Mayor Eric Adams has used that secrecy to threaten cuts to libraries, after-school programs, and senior services just to appear as if he’s “saving” them later. Those discussions should happen early and openly, not behind closed doors.
PW: I know one of the policies that you’ve pushed is the No More 24 Act. And if you could just explain a little bit about that, maybe why we haven’t had a hearing on that, why these labor laws aren’t being enforced, and then what would be different if you were a speaker with these home care workers?
CM: Right now, there are thousands of home attendants across the city working 24-hour shifts and not just for one day. Many work two, three, or even four days straight. The worst part is that they only get paid for 13 of those hours. They’re not compensated for the full day of work.
These attendants care for some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers, older adults, and people with disabilities. Due to the brutal hours and lack of rest, many of them end up becoming patients themselves. They’re constantly caring for others without time to sleep or recover. It’s exhausting, physical, and mental labor.
That’s why we introduced the No More 24 Act, a bipartisan bill with broad popular support that would end 24-hour shifts. But it hasn’t moved forward. The reason is simple: insurance companies make money when workers aren’t paid for every hour, and home care agencies profit from the exploitation of mostly immigrant women and women of color.
Even the committee chair who supports the bill and is a co-sponsor hasn’t been able to get it a hearing because the Speaker blocks it. This comes down to one person listening more to donors and special interests than to the workers who keep this city running.
PW: Is there an actual argument that the other side gives of why they don’t want to hear it, or do they just try to shut down the debate altogether?
CM: They shut it down completely. The main excuse they use is that they need a budget analysis to see how much it would cost. But that argument doesn’t make sense. This issue doesn’t exist anywhere else in New York State. In places like Saratoga or Buffalo, workers do two 12-hour shifts or three 8-hour shifts under the exact same Medicaid and Medicare programs. If it can work there, it can work here. The budget question is just a distraction.
PW: Besides these policies, what would be some of your other priorities as a speaker?
CM: Another major priority is protecting retirees in their fight for health care. Under both De Blasio and Eric Adams, there were attempts to privatize the city’s retiree health plans through Aetna’s Medicare Advantage program. I introduced a bill to stop that and to codify municipal retirees’ health care so city workers like teachers, firefighters, and other public employees aren’t stripped of the benefits they earned. There’s no good reason for this change; it’s about profit. Medicare Advantage is just a slick name for privatization, and all the research shows it hurts patients while enriching corporations.
Another priority is building truly affordable housing. Too often, politicians claim they’re building “affordable housing,” but the units aren’t actually affordable to the people who live in those neighborhoods. As Speaker, I’d use our leverage in land-use decisions to ensure that housing is genuinely affordable; asking who it’s for, how much it costs, and how much of it really serves working-class New Yorkers.
PW: Our next mayor is going to push some very progressive policies, and we’re expecting a lot of pushback from the corporate sector and the right in general. As a city council member and possibly the next speaker, how do you fight back against that sort of onslaught that’s sure to come?
CM: We need to make this work; not just for New York City, but to show the rest of the country that progressive leadership can deliver real change. As Speaker, I want to be a partner with our next mayor from day one, working together on rent freezes, universal child care, free and faster buses, and other key policies he’s championing.
We know there’s going to be serious pushback from billionaires, corporate interests, and right-wing media, all trying to discredit him and block progress. Some council members will join that opposition because it’s politically convenient. That’s why we need a united bloc of progressives in the Council, not just a progressive Speaker, to stand by him and make sure this agenda moves forward. I’ve endorsed him, and I’m ready to be that partner.
PW: In your race to become Speaker, you need the votes of other City Council members. What are they considering when electing a Speaker, and how do you position yourself to win those votes?
CM: Usually, the Speaker’s race involves a lot of deal-making, trading votes for power. It’s often, “What do you want for your vote? Chair of Parks? Finance? Land Use? A spot on the budget team?” It’s a lot of give and take behind closed doors.
What we’re doing differently is running on reform, empowering every single council member, not just those who pick the winning side. The Speaker only needs 26 votes, which means 24 members didn’t choose them. Those 24 often lose out: they don’t get funding, they don’t get committees, and their bills don’t move.
My campaign is about lifting the floor for everyone, making sure every council member can do the work they were elected to do. People already know how punishing the process can be if you’re on the “wrong side.” Those who’ve experienced it don’t want to see it happen again. By empowering all council members, we strengthen the entire institution, not just for the next four years, but for the future. That’s the precedent I want to set.
PW: To finish up, I know you’re a big Star Wars fan, so I’ll leave this open. Were there any political or social messages in the series that you gravitated towards as you were growing up?
CM: One thing I’ve always liked about Star Wars is that there isn’t just one group of good guys. You have Saw Gerrera and his fighters, more radical, but still on the right side, and they were crucial in defeating the Empire. It showed that things aren’t always black and white. Even characters like Han Solo moved between worlds, and that complexity always stood out to me.
The Clone Wars animated series deepened that message. It showed the war from the perspective of the soldiers, the clones, who didn’t have much of a voice in the movies. After the war, they were treated like they didn’t matter, denied rights, and punished for speaking out. The series gave them names, faces, and stories. It reminded me that in the end, we’re all people, and if one person isn’t saved, then none of us are.
PW: The next Speaker will be chosen by the City Council in January 2026. Chris Marte is running a uniquely public campaign for what is usually a closed-door process. If elected, progressives believe, his leadership could bring genuine transparency and democracy to a City Hall long in need of transformation.
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