Four years ago, the New York City Council got off to a rough start when lawmakers were surprised to learn the $101 billion budget they'd just voted for included deep cuts to education.
The flub brought criticism to the Council, which was particularly inexperienced due to term limits that resulted in more than half of legislators being in their first term.
Ahead of the swearing-in of new councilmembers in January, Gothamist asked elder members to share their advice with incoming newbies in the hopes of getting off to stronger start.
The advice has been lightly edited for clarity.
Actually talk to people
"Do constituent work. They don't all do constituent work like I do. Get all cell numbers. That's something that makes a huge difference. Take public transportation, because people on the subways and buses really appreciate that you're on the bus, on the subway. They're shocked. I get on a bus or a subway in Manhattan, even other boroughs, and people say, 'Gale, I have a problem,' and I listen. I try to help them. Become an expert in a topic. When you speak, be funny, don't be too dry and have a joke. I try to have some jokes." - Gale Brewer, Upper West Side
Show up on time
"I have two pieces of advice that immediately come to mind. First, all of the substantial legislation I've introduced is great legislation and they should sign on as a co-sponsor as soon as they see me introduce anything. Second, and this is semi-selfish, but very sincere: People should show up on time. They should show up on time to their committee hearings. They should show up on time for the stated meeting. Unfortunately, in the seven months that I've been in office, one of the things that I've seen is that councilmembers never show up on time because the meetings don't start on time, and the meetings don't start on time because the councilmembers don't show up on time. - Frank Morano, Staten Island’s South Shore
Don’t worry about showing up on time
"Build the broadest possible coalition you can build. I'm really proud today we are passing my driver bill to stop unfair firings from Uber and Lyft. The driver bill was a two-year fight and we were going up against billion-dollar corporations. Take on those big fights. On a lighter note, I have definitely struggled to be on time for all the different votes and hearings until I realized that nobody's on time in the City Council. So don't sweat being late because you're probably not the only one. Nothing runs on time around here. It's Council time." - Shekar Krishnan, Jackson Heights, Woodside, Elmhurst
City Hall in Lower Manhattan.
Ignore the haters
"Once you're in public office, you are occupying a very different space and people will sometimes like the policy decisions you make and sometimes strongly dislike them. So I always say, ‘Block the noise,’ because you don't want a situation where just the loudest voice wins … I always say ‘haters are going to hate,’ block the noise and do what you feel is the right thing in terms of policy decisions where you're truly representing your district. - Julie Menin, Upper East Side
Have the courage of your convictions, no matter the room
"I would really emphasize being consistent. We live an age where every conversation, every speech is being videotaped, everything is being tweeted about. When you say one thing to one room and a different thing to a different group, you get caught." - Lincoln Restler, Brooklyn Heights to Greenpoint
Fake it 'til you make it
"When I first came in, I had a sense of impostor syndrome, like I didn't belong here. But as time goes on, it has pushed me to be even more true to myself than I've ever been. And, it also has not only shown me that I belong here, but I needed to be here." - Althea Stevens, South Bronx
Be real
"I think a lot of us who get elected, take ourselves too seriously. I'm not telling you that you have to be like me on social media or in real life, but I think people really appreciate the humanity and honesty and candor that you can bring as you come into these respective seats." - Chi Ossé, Brooklyn
Don’t be overly secretive, treat your staff well
"You make a really good impression if you're willing to share information. I think it helps build trust and comradery with members. Be a friend, be a pal. Share information. And don't forget your roots. Remember what it felt like to show up to a community event at 8:30 on a Saturday. Don't forget that with your own staff. The community boards will be fine if your staff misses one meeting, I promise. They will be meeting next month." - Jennifer Gutiérrez, Williamsburg
