PUBLIC ADVOCATE
PRIMARY ELECTION: JUNE 22,2021
The Public Advocate of NYC is a non-voting constituent of the New York City Council but has the right to introduce and co-sponsor legislation. The Public Advocate also serves as an ombudsman or representative for the people when bringing issues to city government. The Public Advocate also provides oversight of city agencies, investigates complaints about city services, and proposes solutions to perceived failures of city services.
This year will be the first year NYC institutes ranked-choice voting, meaning that voters will be able to rank their preferences of who they'd like to be elected on a 1-5 scale. If a candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, that individual wins the election.
GENERAL ELECTION: NOV 2, 2021
Meet the Candidates
Anthony Herbert
Herbert's career started off working in advertising and investment banking on Wall Street. He managed to get into politics after working in the NYC nightlife and hospitality scene, meeting a number of politicians, some of whom he subsequently decided to work for. Herbert served as Special Assistant to Congressman Ed Towns and City Councilmember Priscilla Wooten in the early 2000s. Herbert has gone on to serve as a community advocate for low-income areas around NYC and regularly volunteered to help serve issues such as homelessness, women's health and gun violence. Currently, Herbert is an executive community member of the NAACP-NYCHA chapter, Executive Vice President of Youth Step USA, and President of the National Action Network’s NY Public Housing Chapter. He also works as a media consultant.
What stands out: Herbert often points to his volunteer and advocacy work as to what sets him apart from his competitors, and he considers himself a political outsider. Herbert has run for public office multiple times, but has failed to be elected. Herbert claims that his focus as public advocate would be to insert himself "into state and city budget negotiations to ensure that there are enough funds to replace every broken boiler in NYCHA housing complexes." Herbert would also like to survey every NYC public school and NYCHA building and establish a website per building, so that New Yorkers can refer to maintenance orders and completion dates. In addition to housing, Herbert has also been a big advocate for gun reform. He believes that in order to curb gun violence, judges should hand out mandatory sentences of 10+ years for anyone caught with an illegal firearm.
Learn more about his policies here: https://www.tonyherbert.com/
Gwen Goodwin
Goodwin is a long-time resident of East Harlem who has advocated for education, transit, housing, and environmental issues. While it's somewhat unclear what her full-time occupation is, it seems that Goodwin's day job is working with beauty products.
What stands out: Goodwin has never officially held public office, despite running unsuccessfully in the past. However, she has been a steady presence for demanding change with regard to some of Harlem's issues. Goodwin has received an award from the Historic District Council for her advocacy work in having the city to avoid demolishing P.S. 109 in Harlem in 2013, which now serves as a community arts center. While Gwen's website does not list any current propositions if elected Public Advocate, she has strongly advocated against gentrification and believes that current tenant rights do not protect them enough from being pushed out of their neighborhoods.
Learn more about her policies here: http://www.gwengoodwin.com/
Jumaane Williams
Williams is the current Public Advocate of NYC, a position he was elected to in 2019. Williams started out in local politics working as a community organizer for a number of nonprofits. He also acted as Executive Director of a grassroots organization named Tenants and Neighbors that helps strengthen tenants’ housing rights in affordable housing complexes. Williams went on to become elected to NYC's City Council in 2009 where he served for a decade before becoming elected to the office of Public Advocate.
What stands out: Unlike his competitors, Williams has significant experience as an elected official with roles in City Council and as the current Public Advocate. During his time on the City Council, Williams was regarded as one of the most accomplished legislators, having played a direct roll in getting 53+ bills passed into law. While in City Council, Williams established the Community Safety Act which established an Inspector General to oversee the NYPD and investigate instances of abuse or misconduct. Williams also managed to get the Fair Chance Act signed into law by Mayor De Blasio, which bars public and private employers from asking about a candidate's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment is made. Williams prides himself on passing more legislation in the first 18 months of his appointment than any Public Advocate in their entire term. Williams' legislation mainly pertained to housing, criminal justice, women's rights and worker’s rights.
Learn more about his policies here:
Theo Chino
Chino is a self-proclaimed Bitcoin entrepreneur. Prior to getting involved in Bitcoin, Theo worked for Spectrum Cable as a System Administrator, and then Charter Communications as a System Engineer until 2017. Chino also states on his website that in 2017 he was elected to the committee of the 2nd Electoral District of the 71st Assembly District. Chino also built a website called "Rep My Block" where individuals could gain membership to the County Committees of New York. Chino has also been a member of the French Socialist Party since 2004, running campaigns overseas in France.
What stands out: Chino claims that his experience with Bitcoin made him realize that "those entrusted with power were abusing it," which is why he wanted to make the switch to politics. Chino has suggested a large list of ideas that he'd like to see implemented such as mandatory NYPD business cards available for interaction, UBI, demilitarizing the police, revamping the MTA, more security in homeless shelters and many others. Chino has also been critical of current Public Advocate Jumaanee Williams, claiming he hasn't done enough to go after corruption in New York, specifically with regard to housing. When asked how he's different from current Public Advocate Jumaanee Williams, Chino said he would be "loud" and characterized himself as a "loud-mouth" who would consistently fight for New Yorkers without a voice.
Learn more about his policies here: