Johnson is ‘fine with’ pushing past Blaz’s vetoes

COREY JOHNSON was elected City Council speaker in an overwhelming vote Wednesday, capping months of maneuvering that will make him the city’s second-most-powerful elected official.

Johnson — a Manhattan Democrat who is gay and HIV-positive — was chosen in a 48-1 vote. Councilwoman Inez Barron, who mounted her own lastminute bid for speaker to protest the lack of black candidates, was the lone “no” vote.

The new leader is expected to pose a challenge to Mayor de Blasio — saying he won’t hesitate to push through bills over the mayor’s veto, which never happened under his predecessor — although their progressive ideological views largely align. He takes over from Melissa Mark-Viverito, who left the job because of term limits. The Massachusetts native, 35, recalled moving to New York at age 19, with two bags and no idea where he was going to live. “I want New York to be a place where you can still be 19 years old and come here and still survive. And it’s becoming more and more difficult if you don’t come from a wealthy family to be able to do that,” he said.

Johnson worked aggressively to shore up support in what had once been a wide-open field of eight candidates. He stressed he will be “independent” of the mayor — and unlike de Blasio, supports congestion pricing. He also said there’s little appetite on the Council to revive Hizzoner’s push to ban horse carriages. “I’m fine with overriding vetoes,” he told reporters after the vote. “I’m more than willing to do that.”