➤ COREY JOHNSON, from p.6
for this story, and Allen Roskoff,
president of the Jim Owles Liberal
Democratic Club and a longtime
ally of Johnson, did not respond to
a request for comment.
Johnson is term-limited but has
more than a year remaining in offi
ce, and he is pledging to continue
serving out his tenure as speaker.
A one-time grassroots activist who
threw himself into street protests,
Johnson eventually found himself
on the other side: After rising
to a position of power, protesters
fl ocked to his own doorsteps and
those of his partner in the midst
of the budget battle that coincided
with a broader nationwide movement
targeting police brutality and
racial injustice.
Since rising to the post of the
citywide speakership, Johnson
has sometimes found himself
walking a tough tightrope on queer
issues: He wavered when asked
about the anti-LGBTQ actions of
Brooklyn City Councilmember
Chaim Deutsch and he angered
advocates when he embraced the
Nordic Model approach to sex work
decriminalization — in which sex
workers but not their clients would
be free from criminal prosecution,
a position at odds with the goals of
many advocates to achieve comprehensive
decriminalization.
Nonetheless, Johnson has also
led on queer rights during his
time as a city lawmaker, becoming
the fi rst out gay man to serve as
speaker and championing legislation
such as his bill that gave New
Yorkers the ability to update the
gender marker on their birth certifi
cates. He proved an unforgettable
presence in the city’s annual
Pride festivities with his exciting
dance routines at the front of the
City Council contingent, eliciting
robust praise on social media
platforms and emerging as a likeable
political fi gure with a bright
future.
Johnson also wooed progressives
at the outset of his exploratory
campaign for City Council when
he pledged to limit his contributions
to just $250 per person and
committed to avoid taking money
from lobbyists, corporate PACs, or
real estate developers and their
employees. He stopped fundraising
during the pandemic and concluded
his campaign with $634,820 on
hand, according to the city’s Campaign
Finance Board.
Following Johnson’s announcement,
a large wave of support fl owed
in on social media platforms, with
many individuals commending
him for speaking out about his
own personal journey and the realities
of his mental health.
“Grateful for the outpouring of
support and love today,” Johnson
wrote on the afternoon of September
24. “The last few months have
been hard personally — I’m grateful
for friends and family and especially
my boyfriend and my mom…
A lot of people counseled me not to
disclose my depression — I did so
because I knew that it was the right
thing to do for me and would bring
some relief to myself and hopefully
others. If you’re struggling. You’re
not alone. Get the help you need.
You’re worth it. Sending love to
NYC. Purple heart.”
Johnson’s departure from the
race leaves Loree Sutton, a retired
brigadier general in the US Army
who went on to lead the city’s Department
of Veterans’ Services, as
the lone out LGBTQ candidate remaining
in a mayoral race that has
heated up in recent weeks. City
Comptroller Scott Stringer rolled
out an impressive slate of endorsements
this month in his quest to
become an early frontrunner nine
months before voters head to the
polls in the Democratic primary.
With Johnson out of the race,
Stringer and Brooklyn Borough
President Eric Adams are among
the top mayoral candidates remaining,
while Maya Wiley, a former
MSNBC legal analyst and an
ex-counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio,
is also in the mix, among others.
Johnson is now the second out
queer city lawmaker to bow out of a
race this year, after Queens Councilmember
Jimmy Van Bramer exited
the race for Queens borough
president in January. Among the
fi ve out gay city lawmakers, all
term-limited, only one — Ritchie
Torres of the Bronx — is on track
to continue serving in elected offi
ce after their terms are up. Torres
emerged victorious in the race
for the 15th Congressional District
this summer and is all but certain
to cruise to victory in November.
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