Opinion

To the left of de Blasio

It’s not just Bill de Blasio moving New York to the left. It’s also the City Council.

Say what you will about Chris Quinn, she took her responsibilities as speaker seriously. Against those who wanted to use the council to counter Mayor Bloomberg at every turn, Quinn worked with the mayor to get good things done.

She also blocked for as long as she could some of the most lunk-headed proposals generated by that legislative body — on everything from paid sick leave and prevailing-wage legislation to the anti-stop-and-frisk bills. And she paid for those sensible stands dearly in Tuesday’s primary.

With Quinn and other voices of sanity — Peter Vallone, for example — exiting, a more radical rank-and-file will be liberated. Among these new shining lights will be:

  • Inez Dickens, a leading candidate to replace Quinn as speaker. As The Post reported, Dickens is a Harlem slumlord who owes tens of thousands in property taxes and code violations. She’s likely to indulge the council’s worst excesses.
  • Brooklyn’s Jumaane Williams was the driving force behind the two anti-NYPD bills. After this dubious success, Williams will have even more influence at the new council.
  • Fellow Brooklynite Brad Lander, head of the council’s Progressive Caucus, is another anti-cop voice whose profile will rise.
  • Ritchie Torres, an incoming 25-year-old from The Bronx, used his residency in public housing as a credit to his candidacy. Is such a councilmember likely to push policies decreasing public dependency? Not likely.

Think of the mischief this council did under Mayor Bloomberg. Now imagine what it will do with a Mayor de Blasio.