MARK- -VICTORITO!
Bill’s pick to lead Council Beats Dem revolt in unanimous vote
MELISSA Mark-Viverito was elected speaker of the City Council in a unanimous vote Wednesday that capped a fierce fight and made her the first Hispanic to hold a citywide office.
Mark-Viverito, of East Harlem, is a staunch liberal and steadfast ally of Mayor de Blasio, who twisted arms s to help get her elected. She has been dogged by controversy in recent days after the Daily News reported that she rented out apartments in an E. 111th St. building she owns without reporting the income on city financial disclosure forms, and she still has not released her tax returns to clarify whether she reported the income to the IRS.
Her victory came after rival Daniel Garodnick, who had continued his campaign despite long odds with the backing of the Bronx and Queens Democratic parties, conceded at the last m minute.
“We unite f for a more e equal and just N New York where everyone, no matter what borough you are from, what neighborhood you were raised in or who your parents are, has equal opportunities,” MarkViverito said.
The 44-year-old began her remarks in Spanish and grew uncharacteristically emotional. “I hope that as young Latinas and Latinos are witnessing this moment, they are able to dream that much bigger and are inspired to work that much harder, because we have broken through one more barrier,” she said.
In a nod to critics who have said de Blasio will now exercise too much control over the Council, she said, “And yes, we will unite to hold the administration and mayor accountable.” The vote to chose a successor to Christine Quinn capped a
tense morning at City Hall, where maneuvering continued until the last second. It was clear that Mark-Viverito — who claimed the support of 31 members of the 51-member body weeks ago — would prevail .
But her supporters and Garodnick’s huddled separately over breakfast to hash out whether there would be a bitter floor fight or a deal. Even after Mark-Viverito arrived at City Hall for the noon meeting — and ducked into the speaker’s office she had not yet claimed — her supporters expected a split vote.
More than a half-hour after the meeting was set to begin, Garodnick entered the Council chambers and hugged his former rival, mouthing “congratulations.” The room erupted in cheers.
“In the spirit of strengthening the Council, which animated my candidacy from the start, I want to formally concede to the next speaker of the City Council, my colleague, Melissa Mark-Viverito,” Garodnick said, earning a standing ovation.
“It is not lost on me that this became a tense and grueling process for many of us,” he said, adding he would try to heal the rifts the bruising contest had created but again stressing the Council must be a “respectful and strong counterbalance to the mayor.”
He later said he decided to throw in the towel once it became obvious he could not win.
Despite the display of unity, the fight left hurt feelings.
“A lot of people were upset with how the process went. They felt people were strong-armed,” said one Garodnick backer.
The crew debated voting against Mark-Viverito or even forming a breakaway caucus, but ultimately decided there was nothing to be gained by doing so.
Garodnick’s backers got a broad guarantee that Mark-Viverito forces would not seek vengeance before dropping their fight, sources said, but no specific guarantees were made on key matters like keeping committee chairs.
A brief glimpse of the maneuvering came into public view when Garodnick objected to the group Mark-Viverito appointed to the Rules Committee, which will dole out key committee assignments. It consisted entirely of her backers.
But by and large, Council members tried to project an image of unity. Mark-Viverito gave a shout out in her speech to one of her fiercest foes, Queens Democratic boss Joe Crowley, who replied with a bow from the balcony.
After the vote, Mark-Viverito insisted she will be able to stand up to de Blasio — citing the big soda ban and outer borough taxis as areas where they disagree.
She sidestepped questions about her failure to disclose rental income.
In Albany, de Blasio heaped on the praise. “She is a tremendously intelligent, purposeful, good human being.”