Jumaane D. Williams

JUMAANE WILLIAMS

DEMOCRAT

BACKGROUND: Williams, 46, first won elected office in 2009, upsetting a New York City Council incumbent with the help of the Working Families Party, a labor-backed party that has sought to push Democrats in a more progressive direction. He served on the council for 10 years He was a supporter of the Occupy Wall Street movement. In 2018, he ran in a Democratic primary against Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, garnering 47% of the vote. In 2019, he won a special election to become New York City public advocate. He earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Brooklyn College. As a child, he was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome and has been advocate for people living with the condition.

ISSUES: Williams is the most liberal candidate in the Democratic primary. He supports creating more affordable housing units, expanding rent control and making evictions tougher. He opposes the “Defund the Police” movement but says expanding social services, job training and mental health services would help decrease crime. He says the $850 million subsidy the state provided for the Buffalo Bills new stadium should have been shifted to gun-violence prevention programs.

He supports single-payer health care and a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining. He supports expanding voting rights to noncitizens and expand legal services for undocumented immigrants. He supports term limits for elected state officials.