In her first public comments since declaring victory in the City Council speaker’s race, Melissa Mark-Viverito said she’s proud to have “made history” by locking up the job.
“I am completely humbled by the support that I’ve received from my colleagues,” she said. “I’m really also very proud, obviously, to have made history. It’s an important day for us.”
Mark-Viverito would be the first Hispanic legislator to hold the job. A majority of the Council, 31 members, publicly declared their backing Wednesday night, after Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio intervened in the race on her behalf.
But Queens Democratic chair Joe Crowley (pictured via AP), who is sticking with Mark-Viverito rival Dan Garodnick, said the race isn’t over yet, our Annie Karni reports.
“It reminds me a little bit of George Bush on the aircraft carrier,” he said of Mark-Viverito’s declaration of victory, referring to Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” declaration about the war in Iraq. “This has a ways to go still.”
Crowley said he wasn’t surprised by de Blasio’s maneuvering, which flipped Brooklyn chair Frank Seddio and his loyalists from Garodnick to Mark-Viverito.
“I’m no stranger to inside baseball, nor is the mayor. Prior to being mayor, before the City Council, [he] was someone who was very comfortable in the back room, so I’m not surprised at all that he’s comfortable in the position he’s in now,” he said.
Garodnick said he still believes the race could shift before a formal vote Jan. 8.
“This is a very close race. We have many weeks to go,” he said.
Of de Blasio’s involvement, he said, “The Council needs to maintain some independence from the mayor.”
But Mark-Viverito, who called Garodnick an “incredible human being,” said she expected to unite the entire Council behind her. “I look forward to bringing the body together,” she said.
“I feel very confident in the support that I’ve received,” she said. “And Jan. 8 is going to be a great moment for New York City.”
She wouldn’t discuss de Blasio’s involvement in the race, though she said she’s “incredibly supportive” of the mayor-elect.