Former King staffer
runs for NYC Council
Councilman’s budget director, yo-yo
champ, throws hat in for special election
BY ALEX MICHELL
The budget director
for recently expelled NYC
Councilman Andy King
announced his own running
for that newly vacant
District 12 seat in the
northeast Bronx this weekend,
the fi rst candidate to
publically do so.
Brian Melford, a
29-year-old Williamsbridge
native who has been part
of King’s offi ce for over
half a decade, said that the
council needs a representative
“with experience,
a track record of service,
and the leadership we need
to tackle the next City Budget
post COVID-19” in an
Instagram post promoting
his campaign for December’s
special election.
Melford and King held
a press conference over
the weekend where he
fi rst declared his running
and also received
King’s endorsement.
Apolitically, there is
something which makes
Melford a candidate unique
to any potential rivals: he’s
a champion yo-yoer.
Melford detailed his
skills with a string to the
Bronx Times at the end
of 2018, telling that he’s
invented his own tricks,
competed at some of yoyoing’s
highest levels,
and has always kept the
craft separate from his
government duties.
King’s expulsion came
following the City Council’s
Standards and Ethics
Committee recommendation
health care before you get sick
your own doctor
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,8 OCTOBER 16-22, 2020 BTR
of removal following
a years-long investigation
into series of alleged
violations regarding harassment,
retaliation, and
other instances of disorderly
conduct and confl icts
of interest.
On Sept. 29, Speaker
Corey Johnson expressed
his support of the decision
in a statement, saying
“Council Member King
should be expelled from
offi ce. This is not a decision
to be made lightly, but
Council Member King has
given us no alternative.”
The special election to
replace King in the City
Council is scheduled for
Dec. 22, more than a month
after the Nov. 3 election. Andy King and Brian Melford (r) Photo by Miriam Quin
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