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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, MARCH 3, 2019
Bklyn pol will be city’s next Advocate
Councilman Jumaane Williams wins special election for watchdog seat
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Flatbush Councilman Jumaane
Williams will be the city’s next
Public Advocate, after claiming
victory in Tuesday’s special election
that featured a whopping 17
candidates battling for the offi ce.
Williams came out on top after
winning some 33 percent of
votes, according to the New York
City Board of Elections , which reported
he earned some 133,809 out
of a total 402,778 ballots cast with
more than 98 percent of precincts
counted.
The Brooklyn pol handily
beat his second-place competitor,
Councilman Eric Ulrich (R–
Queens), who won some 77,026
votes, roughly 19 percent of all
cast, according to the board.
Williams celebrated his win
at an East Flatbush cafe, where
he spoke about the offi ce’s important
role of holding city leaders
accountable, and rebuked legislation
to abolish the position that
his colleague Councilman Kalman
Yeger (D–Midwood) introduced
last year.
“The public advocate — the people’s
advocate — is a role that I am
incredibly excited to fi ll, and one
that is crucial to our city. I know
that there are some who have
sought to get rid of it — and now,
I’m sure there are powerful people
who want it gone even more.
But we aren’t going anywhere. Instead,
we’re going to hold the powerful
accountable. The mayor, the
police commissioner, the governor,
the big-money interests — we
are watching, and we will speak
out,” the pol said.
Williams’s win comes after
his several previous unsuccessful
bids for higher offi ce, including
two runs for Council speaker
in 2013 and 2017, and his campaign
for the state offi ce of lieutenant
governor last year, when he lost to
incumbent Lieutenant Gov. Kathy
Hochul in the September primary
election despite winning the majority
of votes cast within in the
fi ve boroughs.
The pol, while delivering his
victory speech, teared up as he
addressed his past mental-health
struggles and the challenge of
overcoming stereotypes facing
young black men, calling his win
a success despite those obstacles.
“I’ve been in therapy for the
past three years. I want to say
that publicly, I want to say that
to black men who are listening,”
Williams said. “I know there’s
a young black boy somewhere
who’s young, cries himself to
sleep sometimes — nobody knows
what he’s going through, and this
world tells you that you have to
hide it and can’t talk about it. But
I’ve got something to say to that
young man: his name is Jumaane
Williams and I’m the public advocate
for New York City.”
Candidates in the public-advocate
race — the city’s fi rst nonpartisan
election — ran on their own
party lines, with Williams campaigning
on the “It’s Time Let’s
Go” line and a platform of affordable
housing, criminal-justice,
and immigration reform.
In addition to Ulrich, Williams’s
competitors included former
Council Speaker Melissa
Mark-Viverito, who came in third
earning some 44,158 votes, Bronx
Assemblyman Michael Blake,
Bushwick Councilman Rafael
Espinal, activist and journalist
Nomiki Konst, attorney Dawn
Smalls, and others — many of
whom battled it out in heated debates,
including two televised forums
where participating candidates
argued about issues such
as the beleaguered public-transit
system, Nycha, affordable housing,
the now-dead Amazon deal,
and expanding the public advocate’s
oversight ability.
Mayor DeBlasio earlier this
year called for the special election
to fi ll the watchdog seat vacated
by former Public Advocate Letitia
“Tish” James, who left offi ce to
become New York State attorney
general in January.
And in addition to keeping city
offi cials and agencies in check,
Williams, as public advocate, is
now fi rst in line to succeed De-
Blasio — a chain of command that
could come into play if Hizzoner,
who held the seat before being
elected mayor, next year chooses
to leave offi ce and mount a presidential
bid before his second term
concludes in 2021.
But the public advocate–elect
said he would not follow Hizzoner’s
footsteps and use the offi ce as
a launchpad for the top offi ce in
City Hall.
“To the mayor, I’m not running
for your job. But I’m going to work
with you to make sure we work on
behalf of the people,” he said.
Williams, however, could only
serve as public advocate for 10
months. A partisan primary will
be held as soon as June, followed
by a November general election
to determine who will fi nish out
James’s second term, which also
ends in 2021.
CHEERED HIM ON: (Above) Williams
supporters, including his Deputy
Chief of Staff Farah Louis, far left in
necklace, Flatbush Assemblywoman
Rodneyse Bichotte, center, and Fort
Greene Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo,
far right, celebrated his win. (Right)
The public advocate–elect delivered a
tearful victory speech at a party following
his decisive win in Tuesday’s
special election.
Photos by Steve Solomonson