The contest to be the next speaker of the New York City Council is one of the most-watched races in the five boroughs – so who among the candidates are hot and who’s not?

In a new feature assessing the social media buzz generated by each of the eight contenders for the leadership post, City & State is partnering with Global Strategy Group to answer those questions.

Global Strategy Group’s biweekly social media analysis tracks such Twitter metrics as the most mentions, the increase in followers and the most retweeted tweets.

And given that the speaker’s independence from the mayor is a key factor not only in the campaign but in how the city is governed, Global Strategy Group is also tracking mentions of Mayor Bill de Blasio by each candidate, as well as what they’re saying about him.

In this week’s first installment, which spans Sept. 15-28, City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez was the top conversation driver, with 2,690 mentions. A tweet from City Councilman Mark Levine linking to a live video of Hurricane Maria was the most retweeted, and City Councilman Jumaane Williams was the only candidate with a critical tweet about de Blasio.

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