Mark-Viverito Is Elected City Council Speaker
Source: New York Times
Melissa Mark-Viverito, a fiery liberal who helped form the Councils progressive caucus, was elected speaker of the City Council on Wednesday, giving Mayor Bill de Blasio a partner at the controls of the legislative branch who shares his ideology and much of his agenda.
Ms. Mark-Viverito, 44, a Puerto Rican-born lawmaker from East Harlem, becomes the first Hispanic to hold what is New York Citys second-most-powerful office. The vote was unanimous, 51-0.
After a bitter fight, in which Mr. de Blasio played an outsized role, Ms. Mark-Viveritos lone challenger, Daniel Garodnick of Manhattan, formally conceded on the floor of the Council chamber shortly after 1 p.m., acknowledging the tense battle but saying, I will do my part to resolve any rifts this process may have caused among us.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/nyregion/mark-viverito-is-elected-city-council-speaker.html
She is a solid progressive. I see this as a victory for a progressive movement over a conservative, status-quo establishment group (Democrats though they may be).