Photo: NYC Campaign Finance Board’s NYC Votes / @nycvotes

Hello, voters!

Welcome to the latest edition of this NYC election-focused newsletter. Today, journalists Felipe De La Hoz and Andrea Pineda-Salgado are teaming up to bring you some salient information about the November 2 election, early voting for which is already underway. The big-ticket item is of course the mayoral election, though no one should be holding their breath for that one; Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams is the heavy favorite. In addition, your ballot will feature several ballot proposals that we broke down more in depth in the last edition.

In addition to these, there are numerous candidates for other offices that you will see on Tuesday’s ballot (if you haven’t gone to vote early yet). Here are the names of the candidates as well as what they stand for. 

Public Advocate:

What do they do?

The public advocate is the first in line after the mayor; if the mayor were to leave office, the public advocate will take over until a special election is held. They can serve up to two consecutive four-year terms. They can introduce and co-sponsor bills in the City Council, oversee city agencies, and make sure complaints about city services are being investigated and heard. It is a position with a relatively low budget and small staff, but oversized bully pulpit and often considered a stepping stone to higher office.
 

Who is running?

Photo of Jumaane Williams courtesy of his campaign / jumaanewilliams.com



Jumaane D. Williams
Democratic

You may know Jumaane D. Williams already has served as New York City’s public advocate since 2019. Some of his issues include: having fair, safe and affordable housing by instituting universal rent control and minimizing tenant harassment; reform NYC’s criminal justice system; and immigration by supporting the NY State dream act. More here
 


Anthony Herbert Sr. Photo: NYC Campaign Finance Board / nyccfb.info

Anthony Herbert Sr.
Conservative/Independent

Anthony L. Herbert, also known as Tony Herbert is a community leader and former staffer to elected officials in congress. His top three issues include: housing the mentally ill and homeless, public safety by holding the NYPD accountable but opposing defunding the police, and creating an affordable housing market. More here


Devin Balkind. Photo courtesy of Devin Balkind’s campaign / votedevin.com

Devin W. Balkind
Libertarian

Devin W. Balkind is a life-long New Yorker and leader of WeGovNYC. His top three issues include: a more transparent city government, implementing systems to make non-profit service information available to the public, and improving services with technology transformation. More here

Comptroller:

What do they do?

The comptroller is in charge of managing and overseeing the city’s finances, including our massive public pension funds. They advise the mayor and the City Council on the city’s budget and financial condition, including by conducting extensive audits of city agencies, as well as making sure financial claims filed on behalf or against the city are resolved. They can also serve as many as two consecutive four-year terms. 

Who is running?

 

Brad Lander. Photo courtesy of Brad Lander’s campaign / landerfornyc.com



Brad Lander
Democratic

Brad Lander is a member of the city council. His top three priorities are building a just economic recovery, holding the city government accountable, and securing NYC’s future by investing in green energy, public education institutions, and infrastructure. More here



Daby B. Carreras. Photo courtesy of Daby B. Carreras’s campaign / votedaby.com

Daby Benjamine Carreras
Republican/Save our City

Daby B. Carreras is a New Yorker and founder of the nonprofit organization BRANDO. His priorities are, crime reduction and prevention, unemployment, and housing/homelessness. More here.


Paul A. Rodriguez
Conservative

Paul A. Rodrigues is a Wall Street veteran living in Brooklyn. His top three priorities are, protecting city pensions, reforming government by promoting transparency, advancing and extending commerce and jobs. More here. 


Borough President

What do they do?

The borough president is a representative and advocate for their borough. They have a big influence on projects that go on in their borough, as well as consult with the mayor on their borough’s annual budget. They decide which local organizations get grants and appoints members to community boards and other boards.  
 

Who is running?

There are many candidates running for the office of borough president, click through the links to find out about who is running in your borough and what are their most important issues. 

Brooklyn

Manhattan 

Queens

Bronx

Staten Island
 


Letitia James. Photo: New York State Attorney General’s office / @newyorkstateag

We would be remiss to publish this newsletter today without noting the biggest political development of the past week, which was the news that Attorney General Letitia James is gearing up to announce a gubernatorial run. This has been one of the most anticipated will-she-won’t-she questions of the next political cycle, as it’s pretty clear that James would emerge as the dominant progressive candidate, a foil to the more moderate incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Much like Eric Adams, James has spent many years laying the groundwork for this run, becoming the first person elected to the New York City Council exclusively on the Working Families Party line in 2003 having already built a career in public service, including as Assistant Attorney General in the Brooklyn field office. To many New Yorkers, she is well-known as somewhat of a consumer, employee, and tenant advocate, devoting much of her early work to going after companies that had harmed employees or clients, and continuing the tradition of publishing an annual list of the city’s worst landlords as public advocate.

More recently, she’s garnered national recognition for pursuing cases against former President Donald Trump’s family foundation and releasing the meticulous investigation that toppled former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (who, despite resigning, has kept up a steady stream of pseudo-accusations of impropriety and whining, and who is whispered to be considering another run). It’s too early to really say what the race dynamics are going to be like; the public perception so far seems to be that Hochul has been effective in her time at the helm so far, and polling has shown her as currently leading. Still, this was before James formally announced (technically she hasn’t yet, though it’s clear now she definitely will) and we are still eight months out from the primary.

One thing we can say off the bat won’t really impact the race: the possible entry of the erstwhile Bill de Blasio, who is rumored to be considering a run for governor after he turns the reins over to the next mayor, one can only assume against the advice of his political advisors, family, bodega guy, and anyone else within earshot. One other point: James’ entry also likely means Zephyr Teachout’s entry into the race to replace her as attorney general. The former gubernatorial candidate and Fordham Law professor is likewise a popular progressive and antitrust crusader.

Felipe De La Hoz is an immigration-focused journalist who has written investigative and analytic articles, explainers, essays, and columns for the New Republic, The Washington Post, New York Mag, Slate,...

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