Julie Menin, a Jewish New York Metropolis Councilwoman in Manhattan, declared victory on Wednesday within the race for council speaker, positioning herself as a possible moderating affect on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s progressive agenda.
The election doesn’t formally occur till January, however Menin, a reasonable Democrat who represents neighborhoods together with the Higher East Aspect, introduced that she had gained the assist of a “tremendous majority” of 36 votes out of the council’s 51 members.
“I’m honored and humbled by the belief and religion that my colleagues have put in me to steer the Metropolis Council as a pressure of motion for New York households,” Menin mentioned in an announcement on Wednesday.
If elected, Menin can be the primary Jewish speaker within the Metropolis Council’s historical past.
The council serves as a separate department from the mayoral workplace and is liable for passing legal guidelines and controlling key facets of the town’s price range, this yr set at $116 billion. A supportive speaker is seen as important to finishing up a mayor’s agenda.
Menin secured assist from many reasonable Democrats and Republicans. Her opponent, Brooklyn’s Crystal Hudson, has been backed by the council’s progressive bloc and is broadly seen as extra aligned with Mamdani, who takes workplace Jan. 1.
Menin, whose grandmother and mom survived the Holocaust earlier than immigrating to New York Metropolis, has often advocated for Holocaust schooling and efforts to fight antisemitism as a councilwoman.
She has additionally made pro-Israel advocacy part of her public picture, marching within the Israel Day Parade in Might to advocate for the discharge of the hostages and occurring a solidarity journey to Israel to go to Kibbutz Kfar Aza in February 2024. (Mamdani has mentioned he wouldn’t go to Israel or attend the Israel Day Parade as mayor.)
Whereas Mamdani has often reiterated his commitments to defending Jewish New Yorkers, his report of assist for the boycott Israel motion and previous anti-Israel rhetoric stoked fears in some Jewish New Yorkers throughout his marketing campaign, together with in Menin’s district, which supported his opponent.
Final week, after pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated in opposition to an Israeli immigration occasion on the Park East Synagogue, which is situated in Menin’s district, Mamdani mentioned that he believed “sacred areas shouldn’t be used to advertise actions in violation of worldwide regulation.” In distinction, Menin mentioned that the protest was “not acceptable” in a publish on X.
“Congregants will need to have the suitable to worship freely and to enter and exit their home of worship with out obstacle,” Menin wrote. “Protests will need to have cheap time, place, and method restrictions.”
However whereas Menin has been seen as a possible moderating pressure on Mamdani, she has additionally solid herself as prepared to collaborate with the incoming mayor.
“With this broad five-borough coalition, we stand able to companion with mayor-elect Mamdani’s administration and ship on a shared agenda that makes New York extra inexpensive by way of common childcare, lowers hire and healthcare prices, and ensures that households throughout the town can do extra than simply get by,” Menin mentioned in an announcement.
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