Councilmember Adrienne Adams Emerges Victorious in Speaker’s Race

By Yehudit Garmaise

City Councilmember Adrienne Adams has emerged victorious after both she and fellow Queens Councilmember Francisco Moya, claimed victory only four days ago in the race to serve as the city’s next council speaker.

On Friday, Adams, who will be the first Black woman to ever lead the City Council, said had secured the votes of 32 fellow council members: a number that was well above the 26 she needed.  

Although Adams says she has the required votes, in January, the incoming City Council, which is comprised of members more diverse than anytime in history, will formally vote to install her as speaker.

While Mr. Moya lacked support among his colleagues, Adams assembled a powerful and diverse coalition that encompassed labor groups, left-leaning members, and fellow outer-borough Democrats.

Although Mayor-elect Adams had been working behind the scenes to build support for Moya, in the end, New York’s City’s new mayor: who has no relation to Adams, but does share a last name with the new council speaker, wasted no time in giving her his congratulations and blessings.

“Not only did Adrienne Adams endorse me,” Mayor-elect Adams said, “she voted against defunding the police,” said Adams, who also spoke warmly about the new speaker, emphasized that he believed that they could work together effectively, and said she was “the best choice to lead our city council forward.”

“I am honored to have earned the support and the trust of my colleagues to be their speaker,” said Adams on Friday after four of her challengers who offered their support after withdrawing from the race. “Our coalition reflects the best of our city. We are ready to come together to solve the enormous challenges we face.”

Conceding to Adams, Moya called Adams a “dedicated and thoughtful leader” whom he expected would work well with all Council members.

“It is clear that I do not have a path to victory,” Moya said. 

As speaker, Adams will help set the city’s agenda and negotiate with Mr. Adams over the city’s budget, which at $100 billion, is larger than the budgets of most states: not cities.

Photo by Flickr