Public Advocate Jumaane Williams cruised to re-election, retaining an office he has held for the past six years, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
Williams, a left-leaning Brooklyn Democrat, defeated Republican Gonzalo Duran by a wide margin. He was first elected to the role in a 2019 special election after his predecessor, Letitia James, took office as state attorney general. He won a full term in 2021.
By 11 p.m. Tuesday, unofficial results from the city’s Board of Elections showed Williams leading handily with a combined 1,356,772 votes, or 72.7%, while Duran received 463,155 votes, or 24.8%.
The public advocate is supposed to serve as a government watchdog and a link between everyday New Yorkers and their city leaders. The officeholder can also introduce legislation in the City Council and conduct questioning at Council hearings.
Williams introduced 65 bills over the past two years, including one enacted measure requiring the Department of Transportation to install a sign noting the city’s first slave market and a pair of others focused on healthcare access and information for transgender New Yorkers.
Since 2009, the public advocate has published an oft-cited annual list of the city’s worst landlords based on tenant complaints and building conditions.
Williams previously served as a tenant organizer and a councilmember representing Flatbush and other parts of Central Brooklyn.
The position has served as a launching pad for politicians with larger ambitions, including James and Bill de Blasio, who was elected mayor in 2013 after four years as public advocate.
Williams himself ran a long-shot campaign for governor in 2023, finishing a distant second in the Democratic primary.
Duran, a Bronx native and U.S. Marine, championed the needs of military veterans during his career and on the campaign trail.
