City Councilman Jumaane Williams, an outspoken advocate for police reform who has criticized Mayor de Blasio for not being progressive enough, won a special election to be the city’s next public advocate, the NY Daily News reported.
Williams was a fierce critic of the city’s stop, question and frisk policies under former Mayor 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.
The Flatbush Democrat won 115,975 votes, or nearly 33 percent with about 85 percent of the ballot scanners reporting, to beat 16 other candidates for the city’s No. 2 elected office, including three of his current Council colleagues, according to preliminary results from the city Board of Elections, Patch.com reported.
NY1 called the race in his favor just before 9:30 p.m.
Coming in second place was City Councilman Eric Ulrich, one of the race’s few Republicans, who sought to capitalize on frustration with Amazon’s abandoning its plan for a Long Island City headquarters. Ulrich, of Queens, had 68,22 votes, or about 19.1 percent.
But Williams isn’t guaranteed to hold the office for long. There will be a primary for the office in June, followed by another general election in November, and that victor will get to serve as public advocate until at least 2021.
Some people think that if every crown heights jew voted they could have controlled the winner outcome.
Some people think if every Jew in the 5 boros voted they could have controlled the outcome.
Some people think every jew in any boro will feel the same way and vote the same way in such an election.
Some people think there are community leaders whose advice in voting should be followed without thought of their own.
I think some people have perspectives that I consider ridiculous..
Hello People, I think its time to stop ‘relying’ on the CHJCC to remind everyone to ‘vote’ Everyone gets mail and the NYC Board of Elections does a good job of sending notifications. We live in this world of NYC Government and everyone knows who needs to, knows how to apply for food stamps and medicaid. Its time to start educating your self also about civics because these elections will affect you whether you like it or not. So next time an election comes around, start doing your research and find out whose who at least a week ahead of… Read more »
The lack of unity with regard to bloc voting is shameful. Every ortho voter should’ve come out to vote against being attacked in our own neighborhoods (it’s not just in CH but CH jewry certainly receives the brunt of attacks).
Jumane is allied with Linda Sarsour. 770 visit is just a political prop. His real friends are a danger to our community.
This was not a “Crown Heights” election. It was for all five boroughs. If frum Yidden in Crown Heights AND frum Yidden all over the five boroughs had voted, AND had voted as a bloc, we’d have a different winner.
You all get what you deserve. Many now moving to FL and TX for your crazy state and federal taxes and housing prices to live in a shoe box is crazy high and malpractice insurance for those doctors like myself is just obscene. Yes, my house is for sale in Suffern and I am off to Bocca to start over at half price for twice the square footage and a nicer crowd ( no weekly beatings and assaults). Progressive equals regressive and is the new code word for Socialism and antisemitism. Wake up fools and vote or vote with your… Read more »
Did you read the article? The guy won by more than 45,000 votes! Why are you spewing nonsense about it’s our fault? How many Jews do you think there are in crown heights?
The whole world was reading about the upcoming election & you mention
“A letter the day before” ???
Not voting is shocking …nothing to be proud of.
In aus all the aboriginal communities have a mandatory aboriginal representative who really knows the peoples needs and situation! Why are there non jewish politicians for jewish neighborhoods? Sounds silly to me. US needs to fix politics, insurance, jails, healthcare… shame. MAGA
All the community members worked so hard for Ulrich and now we got wiliams. People who didn’t vote don’t complain later!
After all the suffering the Chabad community endured in Russia under Communism (father of progressivism and socialism) it’s always shocking to me how many in our community want to walk down that same path again and don’t stand up clearly to denounce progressives and socialists in favor of individualism and conservatism.
People don’t even bother to read the article.
Williams got 115,975 votes and Urlich got 68,220 votes. It’s not even close. Unless some people think that Crown Heights has 50,000 extra voters that stayed home.
I did not vote because the Republican candidate Eric Ulrich supports same gender marriage. There was no one to vote for so I stayed away.
And that is nothing.
If we all voted, things would be very different.
Now forever hold you silence.
Our leaders were behind the curve on this one. A letter the day before the election? Waste of ink. We’ll feel this pain for a long time unless our” leaders” mobilize properly before the next election.
Big deal! Another “progressive”, peirush a liberal politician who thinks Deblasio isn’t progressive enough.
BS”D It looks like our people stayed home, no wonder politicians do not take us or the community seriosly at least hope y’all learned Torah with the time saved not voting.