By Betsy Scheinbart
City Councilman A. Gifford Miller (D-Manhattan) was set to assume the post of council speaker Wednesday after gaining the support of Queens Democratic Party boss Thomas Manton and receiving a host of other political endorsements.
On Sunday, Manton was mum on whom he was supporting for speaker — Miller or the other leading candidate at the time, Councilman Angel Rodriguez (D-Brooklyn). But by Monday morning, word on the street was that Miller had the support of the Queens and Bronx Democratic Party bosses.
Three Queens council members — Tony Avella (D-Whitestone), Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills) and David Weprin (D-Hollis) — also vied for the speaker post earlier in the contest.
At a City Hall press conference in Manhattan Monday, Miller’s two remaining competitors, Rodriguez and Philip Reed (D-Manhattan), withdrew and endorsed Miller.
Lynn Schulman, a Forest Hills resident and spokeswoman for Rodriguez, said “it appeared that Gifford had the votes needed to be speaker and council member Rodriguez felt that we needed to have a unified Council, especially in these difficult times.”
Miller needed the support of at least 26 of the 51 council members to become speaker. The Council welcomed 38 new members this year after term limits forced those in office eight years or more to step down. All of Queens’ 14 council seats were vacated by term limits.
As a six-year council veteran, Miller can only serve as speaker for two years before he is forced out of office due to term limits.
Another contender for speaker, Councilman Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan), threw his support Sunday behind Miller after he won the endorsement of the New York Central Labor Council, led by state Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin (D-Flushing).
By Sunday, when Manton said the leading contenders for speaker were Miller and Rodriguez, the Queens party chief commented on the role Queens will have in the Council’s power structure.
“I’m sure Queens will be well represented in the committee structure,” Manton said, and specifically mentioned the coveted Finance and Land Use committees as among those that Queens council members could possibly lead.
It was rumored that Weprin, a lawyer with Wall Street experience and son of the late state Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin, would get an appointment to chair the powerful Finance Committee.
With term limits set to push Miller out in 2004, it is possible that Queens could regain that post — most recently held by Astoria’s Peter Vallone — in only two years.
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 138.
