Next in line to become city's mayor is Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams

The next in line if embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams were to step aside is Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, who served nearly a decade on the City Council and has run unsuccessfully twice for statewide office.

Williams, 48, has described himself as a democratic-socialist and has supported a range of progressive causes. He long has sought more oversight of policing in the city and most recently championed the How Many Stops Act, which requires police to provide more information about who they question.

Former Gov. David A. Paterson said he’s known Williams for 16 or 17 years and called him "a very progressive thinker."

"He is, I think, an inspirational figure," Paterson said in an interview with Newsday. "He's very straight up about things. He tells you exactly what he thinks."

Adams, indicted this week on campaign corruption-related charges, pleaded not guilty on Friday and has vowed to stay in office and fight the allegations against him. But if he were to resign, Williams would take over and would be required to call a special election that would happen within about three months.

Williams said in a statement Thursday that his role has been "to fight for the transparency, accountability and governance that New Yorkers deserved." He vowed to work with other elected officials and public servants "to ensure our city continues to operate in any eventuality."

The public advocate, a position created in 1993, is a nonvoting member of the New York City Council with the right to introduce and co-sponsor legislation, according to the office’s website. The duties include serving as "an ombudsman for city government, providing oversight for city agencies, investigating citizens' complaints about city services and making proposals to address perceived shortcomings or failures of those services."

Before becoming public advocate, Williams was on the City Council from 2010 to 2019. He ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2018 and lost the primary to current Gov. Kathy Hochul by less than 7 percentage points. He lost to her again in the 2022 primary for governor.

He described himself on the public advocate’s website as a "first-generation Brooklynite of Grenadian heritage," who had overcome the difficulties of Tourette's Syndrome and ADHD to earn a master's degree from Brooklyn College.

In interviews, Williams has talked about additional health issues in his family, noting that a daughter was born prematurely while his wife battled cervical cancer. In a 2022 interview with Crain's New York Business, Williams said he had a "beautiful healthy baby girl, and my wife is cancer-free."

Williams has had the support of the Working Families Party of New York, which backs progressive-leaning candidates. Jasmine Gripper, the party’s co-director, called Williams a "people’s champion."

She said in an interview that he supported "higher wages for workers, access to educational services and child care and housing equity and housing access." She also cited Williams' positions on policing that involved what she called a "holistic approach to safety."

Paterson praised Williams' values, recalling an incident when Paterson was governor in 2008 and his pledge to send supplies to Haiti after a devastating hurricane went awry.

The supplies never got there, and there was finger pointing at a news conference about who was to blame. Paterson said Williams was there but merely said somebody in the governor's office messed up.

"He could've easily taken a shot at me to make me look bad," Paterson said. "But he didn't do it ... That's the type of character he had."

Williams’ support of the How Many Stops Act brought him into conflict with Adams, who vetoed it earlier this year before the City Council overrode him. According to news reports, police officials were concerned the law would lead to longer response times on urgent calls.

The city's Police Benevolent Association did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment on the new law or on Williams.

Williams said in his statement that he felt "disbelief and indignation" over the indictment.

"I felt the same disbelief and indignation that I know many New Yorkers feel, upset that this is where our city is in this moment," Williams said. "This is a painful time, and the looming unknowns and uncertainties only add to the confusion and chaos at City Hall in an untenable situation."

Williams went on to say that "it is the mayor's obligation to prove to New Yorkers that there is a real plan and path to govern the city effectively and regain trust, and his time to show that plan is rapidly running out."

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie