Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Holds Impromptu Gaggle

January 27, 2015

Question: So listening to your briefing with the other reporters before, do you still think that Shelly Silver should not step down?

Mayor Bill de Blasio: So I’ve said he has a right to due process. He, like anyone, has an opportunity to go through the judicial process – so that’s his right. I’ve said, my personal experience with him has been one where he’s been consistent in all of our dealings going back many years. So it’s up to him to decide how he wants to handle his own situation. And, then of course, assembly members will make decisions for themselves about the future of the Assembly.

Question: Do you think that the next speaker – because it seems like it’s a matter of when, not necessarily if, as of this point – so do you think that the next speaker has to come from New York City? And you said that your aides are making some phone calls, so are they lobbying for a particular candidate?

Mayor: Excellent – several different pieces. First of all, I think, again, it’s up to Speaker Silver on how he wants to handle his own personal situation – he has a right to due process. So I don’t presume what the members of the Assembly will do – whether they will make one action or another. We’ll see how that plays out in the coming days. If, at some point, the assembly members choose to go in a different direction, my view is look at the history, for decades and decades there’s been a speaker from New York City and that’s been one of the reasons why some of New York City’s needs have been protected. But even with that, we still don’t get our fair share of the school funding where billions and billions of dollars, for many, many years, for kids who really deserve more help. So, I think that’s the key point here – fairness for New York City – that hasn’t always been easy to come by in Albany and that’s important as we look forward. What I’ve said is that my team is trying to gather information on what’s going on because we’re about to start a budget process in Albany. We want to make sure that we’re handling that properly. So that’s what we’re doing – we’re just gathering information. We’re not doing anything beyond that.

Question: Would your team actively lobby against someone from upstate to be the next speaker?

Mayor: Again, our role is to gather information and be ready to handle the budget process and the legislative process ahead. The assembly members have to make a decision about who they want – now and in the future – to be their leader. I’ve obviously said what matters here is the interests of New York City day-to-day in Albany in making sure New York City gets its fair share.