Landslide: Julie Menin wins CD5 Dem primary; Is Council Speaker on the Horizon?

Incumbent Council Member Julie Menin reigned victorious over challenger and first-time candidate Collin Thompson, claiming 73 percent of first-choice votes for the 5th City Council District covering a huge swath of the Upper East Side.

Menin ran on the issues of quality of life and affordability, public safety and sanitation, and improving public schools and early education, all of which resonate closely with the Upper East Side demographic. “We are in unprecedented and challenging times that require strong experienced leadership,” she told Our Town.

As of primary day, Menin had raised the second-most dollars among all City Council candidates, raising $658,786. Elizabeth Lewinsohn, a candidate for CD1, raised the most with $664,877 but as of noon on June 25 was the losing candidate behind incumbent Christopher Marte, who has reached 49 percent of first-choice votes in the downtown race.

Speculation is growing that Menin is eyeing a run for speaker of the City Council if she wins re-election in November, as seems all but assured.

While Menin raised over $650,000 in private funds, and opted out of the matching-funds program, not all of the funds will be allocated to her campaign. Ben Kallos, her CD5 predecessor, took to X in May not only to endorse Menin’s re-election for Council, but to explain her funding in respect to her budding and speculated candidacy for Council Speaker.

“Julie would be the first Speaker from the Upper East Side since Gifford Miller, and in that role would be able to deliver for our district and our city as a strong counterbalance to whoever the next Mayor might be,” wrote Kallos. “As a candidate for Speaker, Menin cannot participate in the public matching system as the majority of her funds are being spent supporting other Council members.”

According to the New York City Campaign Finance Board, her team, Julie Menin 2025, has donated to 20 of her colleagues’ campaigns as of June 26. Each recipient collected a $1,050 contribution, which is the maximum amount a candidate can donate to another candidate.

Of the 20 candidates Menin donated to, 16 have won the primary, and three more are on track to win. Assuming that the three who are in a position to win do in fact prevail (Ty Hankerson, CD28; Justin Sanchez, CD17; and Darlene Mealy, CD41), Menin will have contributed to 19 winning Democratic candidates.

To win the Council Speaker post in January, a candidate needs 26 votes of the 51 sitting Council members. Adrienne Adams, the current speaker, is term-limited and lost her bid for mayor in the Democratic primary.

When it comes to being selected Council Speaker, “It’s an enormous emotional lift because it’s a race that’s a bit like running for class president,” Gifford Miller, elected Council Speaker in 2002, told City & State. “There’s no polls. It’s just sort of all rumor and gossip and personal relationships.”

While the race for Council Speaker is largely an inside process, the need for intra-Council support is known information.

“My whole strategy was to become either the first or second choice of as many people as possible,” Corey Johnson, who represented a West Side district in Chelsea and was speaker from 2018 to 2022, told the New York Times shortly after his installation. The Times went on to describe him as, “possessed with a preternatural talent for getting to know everyone, and an energy to call and call again, making him something of a ubiquitous presence.”

With that playbook in mind, Menin has certainly forged a foundation of relationships with her likely colleagues, whether through financially contributing to their campaigns or physically showing up to support them (Menin phone banking with Shaun Abreu of CD7 on May 20, or presenting Kamillah Hanks of CD49 an award on May 29, for instance).

Another sign that she is gearing up for a run as City Council Speaker is that rather than having her own watch party on primary day, she “celebrated by visiting presumptive primary winners Elsie Encarnacion and Justin Sanchez,” according Menin’s spokesperson Mercedes Anderson.

During her three-plus years as a Council Member, Menin has been the primary sponsor of over 17 bills, reflecting her leadership abilities for the UES and within the Council.

Of course, before Menin can officially be considered for Speaker, she has to first win the CD5 vote over Alina Bonsell, the Republican candidate, in November’s general election.

“I am deeply honored by the continuous trust extended to me by our constituents with over 31,000 votes cast, and for the opportunity to build on the progress we’ve made together at this pivotal time for our city,” Menin told Straus News. “I am committed to advancing this momentum to build a more affordable, equitable, safer, and prosperous District 5 and City.”