Council Speaker Regrets Giving Ruben Diaz Sr Top Committee Post

NEW YORK — City Council Speaker Corey Johnson says he regrets elevating a lawmaker with a history of homophobic remarks to the helm of a brand-new committee last year.

Johnson, one of the council's five openly gay members, said he made a mistake in making Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr. the chair of the For-Hire Vehicles Committee as he tried to mend fences following a blistering race for speaker.

Diaz could now be stripped of that post, Johnson said as he reiterated his call for the Bronx lawmaker's resignation over his claim that the "homosexual community" controls most council members.

"I tried to start off my time as speaker with everyone feeling good about things. And by my doing that, I overlooked something that I should not have overlooked," Johnson told reporters. "A leopard does not change its spots."

Johnson's remarks came shortly after the council's Standards and Ethics Committee moved to open probes into allegations against three different Council members. The committee's chairman Steven Matteo, a Republican from Staten Island, would not say who they were.

Before the committee's Tuesday meeting, conducted largely behind closed doors, several lawmakers and activists rallied outside City Hall to demand Diaz step down.

He has refused to do so, saying he has been the victim of bullying amid the dustup over his inflammatory comment on a Spanish-language radio show, which was first reported last week.

Diaz did not return a Patch reporter's phone call on Tuesday afternoon.

The claim was not the first time that Diaz, a conservative Christian pastor and longtime Democratic politician, has made incendiary statements about LGBT people.

More than two decades ago, when he sat on the Civilian Complaint Review Board, Diaz likened lesbians and gay men to "thieves, slanderers, murderers ... swindlers and criminals," according to a 1994 letter by Democratic Councilman Danny Dromm. He also referred to then-Councilman Tom Duane as an "uncircumcised Philistine," the letter says.

When he was asked in a 2009 interview whether he thought being gay was a choice, then-state Sen. Diaz reportedly responded, "It’s like having sex with animals. A lot of people want that, too."

Johnson said he knew about some of Diaz's past comments, but nonetheless picked him to chair the newly created For-Hire Vehicles Committee, which played a role in last year's efforts to more tightly regulate ride-hailing apps.

Melissa Mark-Viverito, Johnson's predecessor as speaker who is now running for public advocate, suggested Johnson was among the political powers who have "emboldened" Diaz.

"[H]e didn’t get here on his own," Mark-Viverito said, according to one of her campaign staffers. "You have a Bronx County Party that uplifted him. You have a Speaker who created a committee for him. This is unacceptable."

Johnson said Diaz was not given "special treatment" as he sought to "bring everyone together" early in his tenure as speaker, noting that other new committees were created. But the Council's Rules Committee could now move to strip Diaz of his chairmanship, Johnson said, though he added that he was not urging the panel to do so.

And if it is indeed investigating Diaz and finds he violated Council rules, the Standards and Ethics Committee could recommend a penalty ranging from a reprimand to expulsion from the chamber.

"This has opened a wound, and that wound clearly was not healed because of those past comments," Johnson said. "And what I’m trying to do is just handle this in a responsible manner for the entire body."

"The staff here is deeply upset by what has happened," he added. The members here are deeply upset by what has happened. I am personally upset and I feel bad for my role in this."

Johnson said he last spoke with Diaz on Friday afternoon after NY1 sent him a transcript of the comments at the center of the imbroglio. The conversation did not have a "real good resolution," he said, as Diaz argues he is not homophobic because he voted for Johnson and has gay family members.

Diaz has said he has served constituents from a variety of backgrounds as a lawmaker. His email listserv sent out an advertisement Tuesday afternoon for a Thursday rally supporting him. It calls Diaz "an honest man of integrity that has worked with the community and for the community."

"My office has served 1000’s of constituents from all walks of life, creeds, cultures and gender expressions," Diaz tweeted Monday. "Today I was reminded of that great work."

(Lead image: Council Speaker Corey Johnson is seen on Feb. 7, 2019. Photo by Jeff Reed/New York City Council)