Twenty-four hours before the New York City Council will vote to elect her as its next speaker, Council Member Julie Menin paced the near-empty council chambers, reciting the script for her inevitable victory. “I always like to do a run-through on everything,” Menin told City & State on Tuesday. “That’s just my nature.”
The City Council’s Charter Meeting on Wednesday will lack the pomp and circumstance of last week’s mayoral inauguration. It won’t draw thousands of New Yorkers. Lucy Dacus won’t be performing a socialist anthem.
But while we may be living in Zohran Mamdani’s New York City, the democratic socialist mayor will soon be sharing City Hall with Speaker Julie Menin. A moderate Democrat representing Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Menin has had a winning coalition locked up since late November, defeating more progressive candidates for the council’s top role and stirring curiosity about where she will align with the new mayor and where she will challenge him.
Just after 12 p.m., the council will vote by a commanding majority – if not a unanimous one – to elect her as speaker. (It’s still unclear if anyone will vote against Menin, but protest votes are always possible. Former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams was elected by a vote of 49 to 2 in 2022, before being reelected unanimously two years later.)
A new council speaker also means shakeups within central staff. Menin is set to announce her full leadership team Wednesday afternoon. Miguelina Camilo, who has served as Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s counsel and unsuccessfully challenged state Sen. Gustavo Rivera in 2022, will be Menin’s chief of staff, according to three sources familiar. Council Member Kevin Riley’s chief of staff Simone Jones is also expected to join as deputy chief of staff. And Hotel and Gaming Trades Council political director Bhav Tibrewal will serve as chief adviser, after the labor union helped secure the speakership for Menin Those expected appointments were first reported by the Daily News.
John-Carlo Bautista, currently with the Department for Citywide Administrative Services, is expected to join in an adviser role, according to the sources. Some of Adams’ top staffers have already headed for the exits, while others are questioning what, if any, role they might have in Menin’s central office.
The new era for the council will also bring new committee assignments and leadership posts, with Menin’s early and pivotal backers, such as Linda Lee, Shaun Abreu and Riley expected to land plum gigs.