WILLIAMS WINS PUBLIC ADVOCATE RACE
Beats 16 rivals in public advocate special election
City Councilman Jumaane Williams, an outspoken advocate for police reform who has been critical of Mayor de Blasio for not being progressive enough, won a special election Tuesday to be the city’s next public advocate.
With more than 90% of votes counted Tuesday night, Williams was in the lead with 33% of the vote, according to unofficial Board of Elections tallies — far ahead of his closest competitor, Republican Councilman Eric Ulrich of Queens, who had 19%.
“The public advocate, the people’s advocate, is a role that I am incredibly excited to fill and one that is crucial to our city. I know there are some who have sought to get rid of it, and now I’m sure that there are probably people who want it gone even more,” Williams said in a victory speech at Café Omar in Brooklyn.
“But we aren’t going anywhere. We’re going to hold the powerful accountable.”
Williams fended off 16 other challengers in the nonpartisan special election. In addition to Ulrich, he bested former Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Assemblyman Michael Blake, and two other Council colleagues, Rafael Espinal and Ydanis Rodriguez.
In his campaign, Williams argued his history as an activist made him a natural for the role, which is known for pointing out problems in the city. He has a history of being arrested for civil disobedience, most recently for blocking an ambulance in protest of plans to deport immigration activist Ravi Ragbir.
But the Daily News also revealed Williams had been arrested in 2009 following a dispute with a girlfriend, though the case was dropped and the arrest was sealed. He downplayed the event as a “verbal disagreement,” though he said a purse was thrown and said damage reported by police happened after he tripped over a chair. Other candidates sought to pounce on the news, calling on Williams to elaborate on the circumstances behind the incident.
Williams became emotional at the tail end of his speech, noting a conversation he’d had with a young man who, like him, had Tourette syndrome and wanted to be in government. Then he turned inward, revealing he’s been in therapy for three years, something he wanted to say specifically to “black men who are listening.” He said he’d learned his title didn’t define him.
But somewhere in the city, he said, there’s a young black boy who nobody knows who cries himself to sleep at night.
“Nobody knows what he’s going through. This world tells you you have to hide and you can’t talk
bout it. But I got omehing to ay to hat oung man that think bout very often,” Williams said. “My name is Jumaane Williams and I’m the public advocate of New York City.”
Williams was a fierce critic of the city’s stop, question and frisk policies under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and a champion of the Community Safety Act, which sought to end race-based policing and established an inspector general for the NYPD. But while he backed de Blasio’s campaign in 2013 — which was built around a seemingly aligned platform of police reform — Williams grew disillusioned with de Blasio, particularly around accountability for officers accused of misconduct.
“The mayor I endorsed in 2013 is not the mayor I have seen lately,” Williams said at a debate last week.
Williams now has a bully pulpit to be a headache for de Blasio, particularly as the mayor tries to position himself as a progressive standout with national ambitions.
Regardless of the impending antagonism between the two, the Mayor congratulated Williams for the win.
“I join all New Yorkers in congratulating Jumaane Williams for being elected New York City’s Public Advocate,” de Blasio said. “I look forward to working with Public Advocate Williams to continue making this the fairest big city in America.”
At his victory party in East Flatbush, loud music blared and supporters hugged and cheered as news of Williams’ victory played on a screen showing television coverage of the election.
“I knew he would win it because he is the best person for position,” said Shanduke McPhatter, 40, the founder of a nonprofit. “He advocates for the people’s cause. He sticks to things.”