New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson says he can’t wait to take a time out.
Johnson, who lost in his bid to become the city’s next comptroller and whose Council term ends Dec. 31, told reporters Thursday he’s not sure what he’ll do once he’s no longer speaker — and that’s just fine with him.
“I feel great actually. I don’t feel upset. I don’t feel down. I feel kind of like, excited,” said Johnson, who bowed out of the mayor’s race last year over mental health concerns and then mounted a run for comptroller.
“I feel like I still want to do something good for New York City. I don’t know what that looks like. I feel like I have time to figure it out,” said the Speaker.
Johnson was viewed as a viable candidate for mayor before dropping out and was considered a frontrunner in the comptroller’s race, but ultimately lost to fellow Councilman Brad Lander, who snagged endorsements from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y).
Johnson was at City Hall on Thursday for a Council meeting and took questions from reporters beforehand.
He said that none of the Council members running to become the next speaker have reached out to him for help and he hasn’t heard a peep from Eric Adams, the Democratic mayoral candidate who’s almost sure to win in the November general election.
“There haven’t been any members who are running for speaker who have asked me. I haven’t met with any of them,” he said. “No one’s even asked to sit down with me.”
Adams, the current Brooklyn borough president, is facing Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in the upcoming general election, but is expected to win given the city’s overwhelmingly Democratic make-up. Johnson said he hasn’t heard from anyone in Adams’ camp about a role in his administration either.
“I haven’t been asked. No one’s asked me to do that. Not a phone call. Not a meeting. Nothing,” he said. “I don’t think so. I think I want a break. I think I want to do something outside of government.”
