Council Speaker Hopefuls Splash Cash At Colleagues

By Claudia Irizarry Aponte, The City

Sept. 29, 2025, 5:01 a.m.

As the race to succeed term-limited Adrienne Adams as City Council speaker warms up, some leading candidates have transferred tens of thousands of dollars in campaign funds to aid colleagues and to candidates running for open seats.

The donations offer a look into the politicking behind the scenes as contenders court their colleagues’ support ahead of the internal election in January 2026. And if recent history is any indicator, the biggest spender doesn’t necessarily win.

Upper East Side Councilmember Julie Menin leads the pack, with nearly $27,300 donated through her campaign committee to more than two dozen incumbent Council members and candidates from September 2024 through mid-August, the most recent Campaign Finance Board disclosures show, giving the maximum $1,050 each to 26 candidates.

Amanda Farías of The Bronx, the chamber’s Democratic majority leader, has also spent generously, giving $21,836 to 28 colleagues and candidates between May and the most recent disclosure on Aug. 18.

Crystal Hudson, whose district spans Fort Greene and parts of downtown Brooklyn, has given $12,550 total to 25 candidates and colleagues. Two other declared candidates for Speaker, Carmen De La Rosa (D-Manhattan) and Chris Marte (D-Manhattan) had not made any contributions to political committees as of mid-August.

The recipients of their campaign cash infusions, all Democrats either up for re-election or running for open seats, span the ideological spectrum of the party. Hudson gave $500 each to democratic socialist Alexa Avilés and Susan Zhuang, a conservative Democrat, both of Brooklyn. Menin also gave $1,050 apiece to Shekar Krishnan, a left-leaning Council member from Jackson Heights, and Zhuang.

The transfers from their campaign accounts offer a window into how members cultivate relationships and leverage their war chests in their quest for leadership positions.

“This is a way, to use a hackneyed phrase, to win friends and influence people,” said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause NY, a good government group.

Lerner noted that the donations are a “typical strategy” of people seeking leadership positions in any legislature. “We wonder whether this is the best criterion,” added Lerner, “but this is not a technique that was just invented.”

Council members’ capacity to buy their colleagues’ support has sharply diminished under campaign finance reforms backed by a prior Council speaker who himself spent a record sum on his effort to win colleagues’ support.

During a two-year period leading up to the 2017 election, Corey Johnson gave $83,475 to 28 candidates and council colleagues, CFB records show, transferring $2,750 each, the maximum permitted at the time. Once installed as speaker, Johnson supported reforms that increased public matching funds to candidates but lowered contribution limits.

Johnson did not respond to THE CITY’s outreach for this story.

His predecessor, Melissa Mark-Viverito, spent about $60,000 in contributions to Council candidates and county party committees before her selection as speaker in 2014, according to Politico.

To some colleagues, the donations are little more than an effort to literally buy good will.

“It is a lot of money,” said one Council member who agreed to speak anonymously. “It makes it more of a race on who can buy our colleagues off, and less about, you know, building up a proper coalition and running on a track record.”

In separate statements, Farías and a spokesperson for Menin defended the donations and said they were grateful to support their colleagues. Representatives for Hudson did not respond to a request for comment.

“Julie Menin is running to build a coalition to lead the city council and is proud to support her colleagues and candidates,” said campaign spokesperson Austin Shafran.

Said Farías in a statement: “I always have and will support candidates who fight for New Yorkers. I’m proud of the work we’ve done together as a council to make our city more livable and to deliver for working-class New Yorkers — and I look forward to adding new members to a diverse, strong team next year to do much more.”

Shaun Abreu, a Harlem Council member who received campaign funds from Menin, Hudson and Farías, said the practice is “politics as usual” and one way Council members can build relationships with their colleagues.

Abreu received $500 apiece from Hudson and Farías and $1,050 from Menin. He is supporting Menin for speaker, but said the cash had nothing to do with his decision.

“You want someone who has good relationships, a vision people can get behind, and proof that they’re going to lift up their colleagues to achieve that vision. And fundraising is a normal part of the process for serious candidates to fundraise and donate,” said Abreu. “But I would say, even more importantly, I think what makes Julie stand out is that she has incredible relationships with most of the body, and my support for her is a testament to that.”

Menin, Hudson and Farías were elected to their respective seats in 2021, as part of a historic wave of female candidates that for the first time tipped the balance of power in the chamber towards women.

Menin is a longtime fixture of Democratic politics who led the city’s consumer affairs agency under former mayor Bill de Blasio and ran New York City’s 2020 Census outreach. Hudson, one of the first out gay Black women elected in New York City, is an influential member of the Council whose tenure has been marked by the revamping of Atlantic Ave. corridor east of downtown Brooklyn.

Farías, from the East Bronx, has strong ties to labor unions and won her seat after besting a crowded seven-person race to replace Rev. Rubén Díaz Jr., besting the controversial lawmaker’s chosen successor.

The Speaker of the City Council, who is elected by members of the legislative body for terms spanning four years, wields significant influence over New Yorkers’ daily lives. He or she oversees the budget process each fiscal year and sets the legislative agenda to determine which bills come for a vote by the full Council.

The speaker often, though not always, acts as a check on the mayor, a role that strongly influences who members select to be their speaker. While Eric Adams sought to help Queens Councilmember Francisco Moya take the role, the members in early 2022 elected Adrienne Adams, who has since clashed with the mayor, including in a continued battle now in court over the mayor’s refusal to expand eligibility for rent vouchers.

She was a late contender in the 2021 race for Speaker and had made donations to only a handful of candidates, some of whom lost their primaries.

Four of the five confirmed candidates for Speaker have endorsed Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani for mayor, the heavy favorite to win. Menin has not.

This press release was produced by The City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.