Episode 457: Transition Intrigues and Somos Speaker Speculation

With the mayor's race decided and 2026 election moves just beginning, the FAQ NYC hosts talk about the Council Speaker's race that drew lots of attention at Somos, where Gov. Kathy Hochul got hit with another chant of "tax the rich!" There are only 51 votes that count in a closed-door campaign where the narrative question is whether the Council wants to speed up, or slow down, a Mayor Mamdani and his agenda next year. It’s a contest that he’s yet to publicly weigh in on. The practical question, though, is simply which candidate in a race — where the frontrunners appear to be Crystal Hudson and Julie Menin — can get enough votes to claim the big prize, and the nice office. This episode was hosted by Christina Greer, Katie Honan and Harry Siegel, and engineered by Noah Smith.