At last count, nearly two dozen candidates were vying to become the next New York City public advocate in a Feb. 26 special election.
They include some well-known politicians such as Jumaane Williams, a city councilman who ran last year for lieutenant governor; Melissa Mark-Viverito, a former City Council speaker; as well as other City Council members, several state Assembly members and a bevy of lesser-known aspirants.
Why all the interest? Good question.
After all, some people, including a few current City Council members, want to abolish the office, which makes no sense to Mark J. Green, the first politician to hold the office of public advocate, which was created 25 years ago.
“Like birds flying south, a couple of times a decade someone makes an unserious proposal to abolish this elected citywide office and it goes nowhere,” Green said. “Why would we not want an advocate watching out for all the people who don’t have lawyers and lobbyists to get access to city decision makers?”
— Why do so many people want this job?
The job does have its perks.
Even though the public advocate has little real power and a relatively small budget, the office still functions as a watchdog over city agencies and an ombudsman of sorts for the public. The public advocate also can introduce legislation in the City Council.
The job comes with a $184,800 salary, not to mention a driver and an office at the David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building. But for some, a different office likely beckons across the street: City Hall.
Bill de Blasio used the office as a springboard to become mayor. Green attempted the same, but fell short. And Letitia James, who succeeded de Blasio to become the first black woman elected to citywide office in New York City, was able to parlay that experience and name recognition to win the November election for state attorney general. Her victory created a vacancy, necessitating the special election.
Roughly half of the candidates are African-American, Hispanic or Asian.
“Tish James is the attorney general now because she was the public advocate,” said Eric Lane, who served as executive director and counsel to the 1989 Charter Revision Commission.
— Who’s running?
A better question might be: Who is not running?
The field will become clearer in about two weeks, after candidates submit nominating petitions, which must contain the valid signatures of at least 3,750 city voters. Some of the less well-known or less well-funded candidates may not be able to get the necessary signatures in the short time frame, potentially narrowing the field significantly. The first candidate to successfully file gets the first spot on the ballot.
But for now, there is a candidate for every taste.
You want a candidate with Albany bona fides? Choose from Assembly members Michael A. Blake of the Bronx, who is also a vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee; Daniel O’Donnell of Manhattan; Ronald Kim, of Queens; and Latrice Walker of Brooklyn.
Prefer an elected official with more local flavor? The candidates include the City Council members Rafael L. Espinal Jr. of Brooklyn, Ydanis Rodriguez of Manhattan, Eric Ulrich of Queens or Williams of Brooklyn.
How about a Republican? With so many Democrats, it is conceivable that the traditional Democratic vote could splinter in multiple directions, giving a Republican like Ulrich a chance. Other Republicans who might run include Manny Alicandro, who sought the Republican nomination for attorney general.
Alicandro did not do himself a favor when he sought to insult Ulrich on Twitter by characterizing him as a “CUNY graduate” who “isn’t ready for this job.” The comment was broadly criticized on Twitter.
The showdown even includes competition between a husband and wife: Curtis Sliwa, a radio host and founder of the Guardian Angels, and his wife, Nancy Sliwa, a lawyer who ran on the Reform Party line for attorney general.
There are self-described activists: Gwen Goodwin, Tony Herbert, Nomiki Konst and Raphael Schweizer.
There are leaders from the Reform Party (John Tabacco, Michael Zumbluskas); people with affiliations to the former President Barack Obama (Dawn Smalls, Benjamin Yee); lawyers (Peter Gleason, Ifeoma Ike and Jared Rich); former candidates (David Eisenbach, a Columbia professor who ran against James in the 2017 primary for public advocate; Walter Iwachiw, who has run for mayor as a Republican); and a host of others, including but not limited to Diane Signorile, a real estate broker; Theo Chino, a bitcoin entrepreneur; Daniel Christmann, the host of an online broadcast.
With such a crowded field, someone could win with a relatively small number of votes, increasing the chance that a long-shot candidate could eke out a victory. There is no minimum percentage of the vote needed to win.
— What does the public advocate do, anyway?
That’s a question that even some candidates seem to flub.
Betsy Gotbaum, the second person elected to the public advocate’s job, was at a candidate forum held by Citizens Union, where she serves as executive director. Gotbaum said she was floored when some candidates started speaking about eliminating student debt, while others mentioned that the office should have subpoena power. The public advocate has the power to deal with neither issue.
“I wish some of the candidates would look at the City Charter and see the duties,” said Gotbaum. “Many did not know and do not know the role.”
The City Charter describes the public advocate as responsible for receiving and investigating multiborough, citywide and individual “complaints concerning city services and other administrative actions of city agencies.” The 1989 City Charter commission recommended that the City Council president position become the “public advocate” to “monitor delivery of services to the public” and recommend legislation to fix systematic problems. The job title of Council president was officially renamed public advocate in 1993 by the City Council.
The public advocate can refer complaints to the agency in question or conduct an investigation and make recommendations about how to resolve the complaint. The public advocate also presides over City Council meetings and can introduce legislation, but does not have a vote. And, if something were to happen to the mayor, the public advocate is next in the line of succession.
— This is New York City, so a Democrat will win, right?
Technically speaking, no.
February’s election is nonpartisan (although most candidates are Democrats), so candidates can form their own individual party label, leading to some interesting and revealing choices.
Mark-Viverito is running on the “Fix the MTA” line. Smalls is similarly positioned, running on the “No More Delays” line, a reference to a stalled city plan for discounted MetroCards for the poor.
Kim is on the “People Over Corporations” line; Ike is on the “People Over Profit” line.
Williams is running on “The Peoples Advocate” line; Blake is running on the “For the People” line because “people don’t feel like the city is working for them and we are not fighting for them the way we should, he said. “Anything with the word public in it is not working the way it should: public housing, public transportation, public hospitals, public education. I think the public advocate is in a position to help.”
Ulrich is on the “Common Sense” line. Yee has “The Community Empowerment Party.” Espinal has the “Livable City” tag. O’ Donnell, the first openly gay man elected to serve in the state Assembly, is running on the “Equality for All” line.
And Konst is running on the “Pay People More” party line, because one of her issues is increasing the minimum wage to $30 per hour for municipal employees and businesses with more than 75 workers.
— Handicapping the finish
The race to raise money will be critical in this sprint of an election. Mark-Viverito and Williams may have an edge because of their citywide name recognition; Williams also has the backing of the Working Families Party, which should provide plenty of volunteers.
Mark-Viverito boasts $200,000 from her old City Council account, and she was the first person to turn in her petitions, which could place her at the top of the ballot if the signatures are approved.
“There are three variables in this election,” said Green, who has endorsed Williams. “Can you get enough signatures to get on the ballot? What kind of name recognition do you bring into the campaign?”
Another key factor, he added, is the “amount of money you can raise in a short time.”
Candidates must file contribution reports on Jan. 15. The Campaign Finance Board will then organize two debates, with candidates needing to meet minimum fundraising and spending requirements to qualify.
And all this for a fairly fleeting victory: The winner is only guaranteed to hold the office for a few months. Under the City Charter, party primary elections to choose candidates will be held in September and those candidates will then run in a general election in November.
The winner of that election will finish James’ term, which runs through 2021.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.