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Under Caribbean Skies, New York Power Brokers Shape a Crucial Race

The contest for City Council speaker was in high gear at a political gathering in Puerto Rico, where candidates politicked among the palm trees.

The candidates openly courted allies by lavish hotel pools. They held can’t-miss parties, sometimes at the exact same time.

Party insiders updated spreadsheets to keep track of fresh commitments from supporters.

The fevered battle to become the next New York City Council speaker will not be formally decided until January, when the 51-member Council takes a vote. But it was in full bloom last week at the tropical political gathering known as Somos.

The fevered battle to become the next New York City Council speaker will not be formally decided until January, when the 51-member Council takes a vote. But it was in full bloom last week at the tropical political gathering known as Somos.

The winner will take on the second most powerful job in city government, a critical companion role to the mayor-elect, Eric Adams, who takes office in January. Mr. Adams, a centrist Democrat, has said that he wants to be a “get stuff done” mayor, and the next speaker could help him enact his agenda, put up roadblocks or try to push him to the left.

The setting in Puerto Rico also drew attention to a recent push for a speaker of Latino descent. Ms. Ayala was born in Puerto Rico, Ms. Rivera is of Puerto Rican descent and Mr. Moya is of Ecuadorean descent.

The race centers less on ideology and more on the relationships the candidates have built with colleagues and the support they offered new members in their bids to get elected. Many of the candidates are not far apart politically: Ms. Adams, Ms. Ayala, Mr. Brannan, Mr. Powers and Ms. Rivera are all part of the Council’s progressive caucus.

Mr. Borelli, who is likely to be the next Republican minority leader in the Council, said that he gets along well with several speaker candidates even if they have different politics.

“I disagree with all of them tremendously on many things, but it’s nice having the luxury to tell them to their face how I feel,” he said.

Mr. Moya, who played soccer with Mr. Borelli when they worked together in Albany, kept a relentless schedule at Somos, highlighting his ties to Mr. Adams and arguing that he was the only candidate with a “track record of working across the political spectrum.”

“I didn’t even see the beach to be honest with you,” he said.

Opinión

I am just glad that they bring some business to the island’s hotel industry.

Me alegro de que traigan algo de negocio a la industria hotelera de la isla.

^{*Read More} https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/13/nyregion/city-council-speaker-nyc.html?smid=em-share

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