It’s time to vote for public advocate — again.
Less than a year after being elected, Democratic incumbent Jumaane Williams on Tuesday will have to fend off yet another challenge to keep the high profile but largely powerless position.
And, this time, it comes from a Republican councilman who believes the office should be abolished.
“I’d be lobbying the City Council and the [state] Legislature to give the office more power, but if I can’t get that done in a year, I would go back and make an effective case for why the office should be eliminated,” promised Councilman Joe Borelli, a Staten Island Republican.
Tuesday’s election is the third time the citywide post has been on the ballot this year thanks to New York’s arcane laws.
Williams initially won the $184,000 a year post in a jam-packed 17-person special election in February, which was set after Letitia James won her bid to become state Attorney General.
However, the win was short-lived. The election schedule forced Williams, a former Brooklyn city councilman, to turn around and begin campaigning again for the Democratic primary in June, setting the stage for the contest with Borelli to keep the post through 2021 — when James’s term would expire.
Williams is heavily favored to beat Borelli, but the two men agree that the office is largely toothless in its current form.
The position is embued with few direct responsibilities.
The Public Advocate is first in line if a mayor is unable to complete their term and is supposed to serve as an ombudsman — or government watchdog — for New Yorkers.
But its small staff, limited budget and lack of subpoena power mean the office historically has done little but serve as a stepping stone to higher office.
Both Williams and Borelli are pushing for an expansion of its powers.
Borelli, 37, says, if victorious, he plans to use the office’s bully pulpit to lobby for getting it more power – including having the city’s Department of Investigation answer to the public advocate instead of the mayor. He also wants seats on boards overseeing the Taxi and Limousine Commission, MTA and key local government entities. If its powers aren’t expanded, the office should be shuttered, he argues.
“Right now, a City Council member has more power than the public advocate,” he claimed.
Williams, who oversees 50 employees and a $4.15 million budget, agrees his office needs more teeth, but he has no desire to shut it down.
Instead, Williams wants to be given subpoena power to better conduct investigations and protection from the city’s budget process.
“Should I have the privilege of being re-elected to serve, it is my goal that by the end of my tenure, we’ve made a strong, lasting impact on the office, so that no one will ever again question why this city needs a public advocate,” said Williams.
After making affordable housing and criminal justice reform among his top priorities during his nine years on the Council, Williams’ has notched some wins in his short tenure as public advocate
He successfully pushed legislation that banned pre-employment testing for weed and released a scathing report that detailed City Hall’s botched efforts to tackle the city’s mental health crises, which amounted to an implicit indictment of First Lady Chirlane McCray’s $250 million-a-year ThriveNYC effort.
Unlike Williams, who has a history of battling with the NYPD, Borelli has widespread support of the law enforcement unions but is considered a long-shot to win because of the city’s heavy concentration of Democratic voters.
Williams’ key endorsements include de Blasio.
Technologist Devin Balkind is running as the Libertarian Party nominee.