Dueling NYC City Council Speaker Candidates Each Claim Victory

NEW YORK CITY — The race for the next City Council speaker descended into confusion as two top candidates both declared victory.

Council Member Adrienne Adams announced Tuesday she secured enough support to win the speaker race to replace Corey Johnson.

“After much discussion and collaboration with my colleagues, I am honored to have received the necessary votes to become the next speaker of the New York City Council,” she said in a statement.

But shortly afterward Adams' rival in the contest made a declaration of victory himself.

"I am humbled to announce that our diverse coalition of Council Members and leaders from across New York City has collected a majority of votes to elect the next speaker of the Council," he tweeted.

I am humbled to announce that our diverse coalition of Council Members and leaders from across New York City has collected a majority of votes to elect the next speaker of the Council. I look forward to leading this body into a brighter future for our great city.
— Francisco Moya (@FranciscoMoyaNY) December 14, 2021

Whether Adams or Moya actually won won't be settled until January, when the 51-member Council votes to select their next speaker.

The dueling declarations underscore what has been a particularly tight and fraught contest.

Moya is widely considered to have the backing of mayor-elect Eric Adams. But many Council members have rankled at the soon-to-be mayor blessing — or picking, in their view — his legislative counterpart.

They pushed to have a woman take the speaker role.

And Adrienne Adams emerged as that contender. Four of Adams' former rivals in the race — Diana Ayala, Justin Brannan and Gale Brewer and Keith Powers — withdrew from the race and issued a joint statement backing her.