Adams, Wading Into Council Speaker Race, Puts Political Capital at Risk
The New York Times
After saying he would stay out of the race, Eric Adams, the incoming mayor, has sought to install an ally. It was unclear whether he would succeed.
When New York City’s mayor-elect, Eric Adams, said he was staying out of the combative race for City Council speaker, the declaration made sense: He still has the vast majority of his cabinet appointments to make, and an extraordinarily challenging job awaiting him in three weeks.
And yet, skipping an important political contest — one that would decide whether the second-most powerful position in city government would be held by an ally of Mr. Adams — seemed like an almost novel notion in New York.
And sure enough, in the past week or so Mr. Adams and his associates had spoken with council members on behalf of his preferred candidate, Francisco Moya of Queens, who was thought to have little pre-existing support among those who would have to choose him as their leader.