Candidate Answers to JOLDC: Jumaane Williams for NYC Public Advocate
Candidate Name: Jumaane Williams
Office Seeking Election for: NYC Public Advocate
Campaign Website: https://jumaanewilliams.com
1. Based upon your life experiences and accomplishments, why do you believe you are best qualified to represent your district?
We need all hands on deck to solve our affordable housing crisis, public safety and mental health crisis and to lower the cost of living for New Yorkers. We’ve gotta get through this, together, and that’s why I’m seeking another term as New York City Public Advocate.
The Trump administration and it’s policies is not just a grave threat to New Yorkers’ way of life, but they’re already shown that they will do anything they can to tear down our norms, and cause chaos and havoc to so many New Yorkers.
As Public Advocate, I’ve spent years defending these New Yorkers, and my responsibility is to continue to do so - through agitating, through legislation and through working with my partners in government and allies. I’ve shown how it can be done - by putting my own body on the line, by passing more legislation through any previous Public Advocate, combined, and by delivering results. How long have you lived in the community you are seeking to represent?
2. What LGBTQ organizations have you been involved with, either on a volunteer basis or professionally? What LGBTQ candidates have you endorsed?
First, I am a member of the Board of Governors of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club. Additionally, I’ve been associated with several leading organizations, including The Audre Lorde Project, NYC Anti-Violence Project, Destination Tomorrow, Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society, The Center, Caribbean Equality Project, Bridges 4 Life, GMHC, among many others.
Additionally, as Public Advocate, I’ve hosted a regular Black Trans Roundtable to better keep my office informed on what’s going on in the community, and especially to uplift the voices of Black Trans women. It’s helped inform outreach and legislative strategy.
3. If you receive our endorsement, do you agree to identify the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club on all literature and electronic materials?
Yes.
4. What press conferences, demonstrations, rallies and protests in support of LGBT issues, pro-choice legislation, racial justice, criminal justice have you attended, including rallies specifically against Donald Trump?
I’ve been involved in all of these for years - as Council Member, as Public Advocate and as a candidate-, including putting my body on the line. I’ve spoken out/rallied/demonstrated publicly against #WalkingWhileTrans, for protections for members of the LGBT community if there are interactions w/ law enforcement, including on Rikers Island, against the crisis of the deaths of Black Trans Women, against the election of Trump (where I was arrested protesting his election). Additionally, I have prime sponsored and passed pro-LGBT legislation, including Intro 887-B, requires the DOC to regularly report on information related to individuals in custody whose gender identity is different from the sex assigned to the individual at birth, including, transgender, gender nonconforming,
non-binary, or intersex individuals. The department is also required to report information regarding such individuals’ housing placements, denials of requests for housing that most closely aligns with a person’s gender identity, and involuntary transfers from housing most closely aligns with a person’s gender identity.
5. In light of the upcoming Trump Administration’s war on women, the LGBTQ+ community, racial minorities and immigrants, what are your plans to organize and combat the Trump agenda?
We must continue to organize against the worst of the Trump policies. He’s more unrestrained than he was in his first term, especially after the Supreme Court essentially gave him immunity. That means that LGBTQ+, people of more color, low income people, and anyone else are subject to the random whims of a President who ran against everything all of these groups stand for and represent. I will continue legislating, agitating in the streets, raising issues loudly, and as always, centering the voices most impacted by the flood the zone whims of Trump. I’ll also be pushing others to fight back against these draconian policies - we must ensure that those who set our budgets - the Governor/Legislature, and the Mayor/City Council prioritize funding for resources that are likely be stripped by the federal government, and fight back against efforts at dehumanizing LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. What I try to impress on everyone is that we are ALL in this together
6. Will you seek or accept endorsements of individuals who oppose LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights, such as Ruben Diaz Sr., Fernando Cabrera or Erick Salgado? Will you pledge to denounce their homophobia and anti-choice positions in the event you receive an endorsement from such individuals?
No, I have no intention to not seek or accept them and yes I would speak against any of those harmful positions
7. In light of the upcoming Trump Administration’s war on women, the LGBTQ+ community, racial minorities and immigrants, what are your plans to organize and combat the Trump agenda?
A few things come to play relative to harmful Trump’s agenda: the power to agitate, legislative, and advocate. I’ll continue using my voice and the influence of the Office of Public Advocate to sound the alarm regarding any attempt by Trump, his team or any other party that targets LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, or others. My history relative to Trump is clear: I’ve been arrested protesting his inauguration last round, and I’ve consistently spoken out in opposition. In terms of legislation, we must all work together to stop his draconian budget cuts, and targeting of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers -including by terminating or removing community members from positions of authority. We also must use state and local power to fight back - by expanding both levels’ human rights laws, enduring that we have sufficient enforcement, that we are supporting organizations on the ground that are committed to the safety and prosperity of the LGBTQ+ community, and by making sure that members of the community remain centered in decisions about what they demand and need from government.
8. Do you support the unrestricted right to reproductive care and abortion?
Yes.
9. Have you hosted, funded or otherwise supported Drag Story Hours in your community?
Yes.
10. What proposals will you support to increase the protection of immigrants and cement New York City’s status as a Sanctuary City?
I’ve worked with many community partners to protect immigrants, especially since the ways in which largely right-wing politicians tried to dehumanize them - from the Governors of Texas, Florida, and of course, the current US President.
We must center human rights in terms of how we all respond to the current immigration crisis. Whether we like it or not, it’s the responsibility of the government to ensure that every New Yorker- from a longtime resident or a New Yorker, has the tools to live and build productive lives. This includes things like ensuring access to basic healthcare, educational and related resources.
Otherwise, we all would violate the oaths we took to protect New Yorkers to the best of our ability.
11. How will you represent the most vulnerable, including individuals experiencing homelessness and asylum seekers? Have you ever opposed any shelter in your district?
I’ve consistently represented the most vulnerable New Yorkers in the council and as Public Advocate. Among many measures, I’ve pushed for the city itself to maximize city owned property for the development of affordable housing (the “Housing, Not Warehousing Act”), pushed to increase cityPHEPS vouchers (and opposed actions to stop their expansion), passed a Homeless Bill of Rights so that homeless New Yorkers have a centralized place to understand the resources available to them. I’ve similarly worked hard to ensure protections for asylum seekers, including humane treatment as what the city called “humanitarian relief” centers, to ensure that the government stops preventing asylum seekers from seeking employment, among other measures. Centering human rights and the humane treatment of all New Yorkers will continue to be my priority as Public Advocate.
12. If incumbent, are you a co-sponsor of Resolution 2970, introduced by Council Member Shahana Hanif? If not yet elected, will you promise to
co-sponsor the resolution? The text urges the NYS Legislature to pass the New York for All Act, which would ensure state and local resources are not used to facilitate federal immigration enforcement. If not, please explain.
Yes.
13. If incumbent, are you a co-sponsor of Resolution 2917, introduced by Council Member Crystal Hudson? If not yet elected, will you promise to co-sponsor the resolution? The text endorses the Access to Representation Act, which would establish a “universal right to counsel” for indigent New Yorkers who are subject to removal proceedings under federal immigration law. If not, please explain.
Yes.
14. Will you join our efforts to pass legislation mandating the review of sentences of incarcerated individuals over the age of 55 who have served in excess of 15 years to determine if they warrant release? The legislation is commonly known as the New York Elder Parole Bill.
Yes.
15. Do you oppose the death penalty?
Yes.
16. Do you support outlawing solitary confinement?
I am the prime sponsor of the law to do so in the city. Specifically to ban the use of prolonged isolation
17. Do you commit to visit constituents who are incarcerated? Will you work to secure the release of individuals who have demonstrated sincere remorse, worked toward rehabilitation and are not deemed a threat to society?
Yes. I have visited Rikers Island to inspect conditions several times as Public Advocate and Council Member. I also joined Jim Owles in visiting Judith Clarke
18. Do you commit to working to change our penal system toward a restorative rather than a retributive model of justice?
Yes. I’ve long called for this.
19. Do you commit to make applications for clemencies available to your constituency including a link to an application in a constituent newsletter? Will you submit it to our club?
Yes.
20. Who did you support for mayor in the 2021 Democratic primary election?
I endorsed Maya Wiley.
21. Which 2025 Democratic candidates have you removed from your consideration? Have you endorsed anyone? If so, who?
I am a proud member of the DREAM team. Don’t Rank Eric or Andrew for Mayor. Lots of good people running, I have committed Comptroller Brad Lander as my #1 or #2.
22. Do you support the renaming of the Ed Koch bridge and will you work towards the renaming including sponsoring such legislation?
Yes, I also voted against the bill in the Council.
23. What are your plans to address rent affordability in NYC? Did you vote for “City of Yes”? If not, please explain.
I have no vote in the Council. After the passage of “City of Yes,” I said, in an editorial:
“And then what? While revised zoning enables new structures, what other structures can we put in place to ensure that rising developments aren’t accompanied by still-rising rents? How can we be a City of ‘Yes, And?’
First, we hold developers of new units to strict affordability standards—not lax guidelines that are easily circumvented, such as those set forth at the state level under decades of 421-a. Government can and must invest more in and subsidize affordability, but that does not constitute a blank check for no return.
At the same time, as I’ve always argued, we can’t build our way out of this crisis, both because only a minority of new units will meet affordability standards, and because even 80,000 to 100,000 apartments will not increase housing stock at the levels needed, and certainly not on the urgent timeline this ongoing emergency demands. Preservation, not merely construction, is an essential part of any serious housing strategy.
Fortunately, while our reported vacancy rate is alarmingly low, there are units across the city excluded from the count that need to be included in our housing strategy. Property owners have spent years warehousing apartments. They have decided these units are worth more to them vacant than occupied, and tenants everywhere are paying the price. In many cases, these “zombie apartments” become dilapidated and harm residents of entire buildings and blocks. Any owner truly struggling with costs should be connected to the many supportive programs
available, and hopefully some new ones, not pass costs to struggling renters or leave rooms vacant when space is scarce.
When I was in the City Council, I passed a “Housing, Not Warehousing” bill to require a canvassing of the city for vacant properties which could be utilized for housing production. The Adams administration has instructed agencies to perform similar work in the past with city-owned spaces. But private owners are taking advantage of a lack of oversight and enforcement, and we need both an accurate count and actionable steps to bring these units back online. A significant investment must be made in HPD’s inspection and correction of these spaces. Advocates suggest about 80,000 apartments may currently be warehoused, and making them available would essentially double the promise behind City of Yes. In addition to revitalizing long-vacant spaces, under-used office buildings should continue to be prioritized for conversion.
The need for preservation also extends to maintaining what are intended as the most deeply affordable units in our city, NYCHA’s public housing. Fulfilling the promise of NYCHA requires deep investment in capital upgrades to existing buildings, as well as the development of additional units—potentially through land trusts, RAD-PACT partnerships and in authentic partnership with residents.
NYCHA residents have seen their living spaces and their trust in city management decline for decades. While the worst private landlords take housing off the market and make rents unaffordable, too often poor conditions in public housing make units unlivable.
No amount of new units will address the housing crisis if New Yorkers simply cannot afford to move into them. This administration wants to trumpet the Council’s pending passage of “City of Yes” as a win, but refuses to implement housing voucher expansion passed by the Council years ago. They are actively preventing the most immediate means of getting New Yorkers into permanent homes, while supporting record rent increases on regulated units. If the mayor is committed to housing reforms, even only for political gain, he can at the very least stop ignoring the city’s housing laws for political purposes.
Particularly in areas where new large-scale developments may not be best, we should expand efforts to prevent and enforce against unscrupulous deed theft—families who have held homes for generations cannot be displaced.
Finally, while affordability percentages were increased in the final package, the city’s income-targeted mandates remain flawed at their foundations. This is a federal failure—as I have written in the past, Annual Median Income is calculated using far too wide a map—including suburban counties to set so-called
“affordable” housing rates that are completely out of reach for the New Yorkers most in need of homes. A federal re-calculation of AMI, centered on our city, is vital for a long-term strategy that recognizes the reality in our streets, not the hypothetical on a spreadsheet
No measure, no singular vote, will solve the housing crisis that has been building for decades. Addressing housing insecurity, affordability, and homelessness requires not just new construction, but a deconstruction of the root causes and foundational solutions. Only then can we build up our city in a way that lifts up New Yorkers and keeps them in their homes.”
24. What are your plans regarding short-term housing?
I’ve been involved in the conversation around short term rentals for more than a decade. I have no problem with owners who are complying with the law listing units in accordance with the rules. I specifically have had an issue with larger operators taking thousands of units off of the housing market for profit, especially when we are in the midst of an ongoing housing crisis with low vacancy rates.
Everyone has skin in the game when it comes to building and preserving income-targeted housing across the City.
25. Based upon your life experiences and accomplishments, why should we believe you would be a dynamic and progressive voice in elected office?
I became an elected official because I believed one could be both an activist and an elected official. I’ve been able to do so: putting my body on the line in protest of inhumane treatment of New Yorkers against the powers that be. I’ve also been able to pass more than 70 laws as a Council Member and Public Advocate- touching on the environment (Bike to Work), affordable housing, LGBTQ+ protections, women’s reproductive rights, land use reform, pandemic protection and tax break, immigration issues, criminal justice reform, including
police-community relations, and many others. I’ve shown that it can be done - even in the face of critics who say I’ve been too much of an activist.
26. What additional information would you like the Jim Owles club to consider when we are making our endorsement decision?
I’m pleased to have a long association with the Club that is a vanguard of protecting LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, including serving as a Board member. Thank you all for the consideration.
27. Are you a potential candidate for City Council speaker in the upcoming term? If so, what is your platform?
No.