Bochinche & Buzz: Which Council speaker candidate does Bill de Blasio support?

New York City Councilman Ydanis Rodríguez is not being shy about his aspirations to be the next Council speaker. At last weekend’s SOMOS Spring conference, Ydanis was openly saying as much to anyone that would listen.

Rodríguez has been talking up his desire for the speakership for a while now – at least since last November's Fall SOMOS Conference in San Juan, PR. At the time, I thought perhaps he had suffered a heat stroke, but I’ve since realized that the man is serious about his ambitions – even if no one else is.

There are a few problems that Ydanis and other wannabe NYC Council Speakers are facing – first and foremost? The mayor already has a candidate in mind. According to one political insider and respected business person, de Blasio plans to get behind Queens Councilwoman and Finance Committee Chairwoman Julissa Ferreras in the behind-the-scenes race to succeed Melissa Mark-Viverito.

My City & State colleagues Nick Powell and Michael Johnson and I break down this bit of bochinche and more in this week's Slant podcast. Will the mayor's support help or hinder Julissa’s chance of becoming the second Latina to hold the powerful title?

Listen to our podcast and find out our predictions.