Now that the ritualistic forums that gave a veneer of public participation to the selection of a new City Council speaker are done with, the matter appears to have been settled in typically undemocratic fashion: Manhattan firebrand Corey Johnson, touting his independence from Mayor de Blasio, got the needed Queens and Bronx party boss backing to declare himself top man more two weeks before the other 50 Council members cast votes. The mayor gave his grudging blessings.
But not Brooklyn Councilmen Jumaane Williams and Robert Cornegy, who say it’s long past time that New York gets its first black speaker.
Who among the three will triage a city budget about to be shredded by federal cuts? Stand up to NIMBYs grinding development to a halt?
We must be reading the wrong job description.
Send a Letter to the Editor