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 by Wednesday
afternoon.
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 publicadvocate
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 nowdead
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
COURIER L 20 IFE, MARCH 1–7, 2019 M BR B G
city offi cials and agencies in
check, Williams, as public advocate,
is now fi rst in line to
succeed DeBlasio — 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