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JUMAANE WILLIAMS RECEIVED OVER 45% OF THE VOTE IN THE VILLAGE. Jumaane (above left) with Arthur Schwartz. Photo by Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte.

By Arthur Z. Schwartz

As we go to press, Jumaane Williams, of Brooklyn, is being installed as the City’s fourth Public Advocate. Besides chairing City Council meetings, the Public Advocate has rather undefined powers—but largely, it is the position of public ombudsman.

Jumaane is an activist, a fighter, and an effective legislator (53 bills passed in eight years). He fears not the Mayor, the Police Department, the Governor, or the President (whom he calls “the Orange One”). In his interview in WestView in February, Jumaane stressed housing affordability as central to his work. It is an issue we sorely need addressed in the Village.

Jumaane got over 45% of the vote in the Village, in a 17-candidate field (a win George Capsis takes credit for). I have made it clear to him how much support he has in our neighborhood, and how much we need his help.

When Borough President Gale Brewer endorsed Jumaane last month, she said that Jumaane had “real soul and real integrity” and that he was “genuine, informed and brimming with passion.” Sounds like a Villager.


Arthur Z. Schwartz is the Democratic District Leader for Greenwich Village. 

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