It’s no city for women pols
MAYORAL HOPEFUL Nicole Malliotakis said the city’s statue of Christopher Columbus should stay put — charging Mayor de Blasio’s commission to remove symbols of hate is causing “tremendous division” among New Yorkers.
Malliotakis, the presumptive GOP nominee for mayor, incorrectly called the explorer the “founder of our nation” as she defended his towering likeness at Columbus Circle.
“Columbus should stay,” the Staten Island Assemblywoman told reporters. “Now even Christopher Columbus, the founder of our nation, is under attack.”
After her press conference on the issue, she tweeted that she misspoke about Columbus’ role in the country — and slammed the news media for pressing her on the comment with a Trump-ian hashtag.
“I think everyone knows I misspoke . . . After all 1776 is my favorite musical!” she tweeted. NEW YORK lags behind other cities in the nation and abroad when it comes to women holding office — and the disparity could get even worse, according to a report from the Women’s Caucus being released Thursday.
Just 26% of the City Council’s members are women. Nationwide, 34% of the members of the city councils representing the 100 most populous cities, taken together, are women.
“More women in office means more women and childfriendly legislation, and — particularly “#FakeNews”.
Columbus is revered for leading voyages that kicked off European exploration of the Americas and as a symbol of Italian heritage, but criticized for his role in exploiting and wiping out native inhabitants. He lived centuries before the United States was founded.
Council Speaker Melissa MarkViverito says the commission should consider the Columbus Circle statue for possible removal. Mayor de Blasio says the task force will look at all suggestions.
He announced plans for the 90-day review of monuments on city property in the wake of violence in Charlottesville, Va., sparked by white supremacists opposing the removal of Confederate monuments.
The timeline would put the conclusion of the review after the election. “This 90-day review process will be guided by the need for sensible, thoughtful solutions, not by the election calendar,” said de Blasio spokeswoman Natalie Grybauskas. as hostile politicians attempt to roll back our rights at the federal level — it is critically important that we stand together and advocate for women in our cities and states,” Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal (DManhattan), co-chairwoman of the caucus, said.
And New York’s percentage of women serving on the Council may decline come January: Four of the members who are term-limited are women.
The Council has 13 women members now, compared with 17 and 18 for most of the 2000s, the report said.