We know who is about to become New York City's most powerful elected official. The second most powerful — the City Council speaker — won't be chosen until Jan. 8. But it is likely to be Melissa Mark-Viverito, of East Harlem, not least because Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio appears to have engineered a deal guaranteeing her the job.
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Ms. Mark-Viverito's victory was sealed by intense behind-the-scenes lobbying by Mr. de Blasio, after which she declared herself "humbled" by the honor. The mayoral meddling in Council business was unsurprising but unseemly, especially from someone who used to accuse Speaker Christine Quinn of being too close to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
But that was then. Now we're about to get a speaker with an enormous debt to the mayor, leading a legislative body that is supposed to be an independent counterweight to the executive. Ms. Mark-Viverito's defenders don't see a separation-of-powers problem. They also note that the old way of selecting speakers involved powerful party leaders in the boroughs anointing a choice, for the purpose of doling out committee chairmanships and pork.
Ms. Mark-Viverito, who was an early and enthusiastic de Blasio supporter, insists that she will be independent and fearless. She points to the ambitious list of reforms that her Progressive Caucus has proposed, including changing Council rules on member-item spending and overhauling the City Charter to improve transparency in budgeting.
Those are excellent ideas, and she should pursue them. But the best benchmark for independence will be how she reacts when some ally — this mayor, let's say — offers terrible ideas and misguided policies. We'll see. Meanwhile, there are 50 others in the Council who need to remember that electing a speaker is their decision, not any party boss's or mayor's. It is their institution whose role and reputation they are bound to protect.
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