Jumaane Williams: Career Timeline
Jumaane Williams has held elected office in New York City continuously since 2010, first as a City Council member and then as Public Advocate, while twice running for statewide office. The timeline below traces his political career in chronological order, with citations to primary or strong secondary sources for each major moment.
Organizing roots
Before holding office, Williams worked as a community organizer at the Greater Flatbush Beacon School and then as Executive Director of New York State Tenants & Neighbors, a statewide tenant advocacy group, where he campaigned for affordable, income-targeted housing 1,2. This organizing background shaped the housing-and-policing focus that would define his elected career.
Elected to the City Council
Williams was elected to the New York City Council in 2009, representing the 45th District in Brooklyn, an area covering Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands, Midwood, and Canarsie 3. He won the general election with the support of the Working Families Party and took office on January 1, 2010, succeeding Kendall Stewart 4.
Occupy Wall Street and a rising profile
Williams gained citywide attention in 2011 after he was shoved by NYPD officers during a visit to an Occupy Wall Street protest 5. The incident, combined with his early focus on the NYPD's "stop, question, and frisk" practices, established his public identity as an elected official willing to put himself physically into protest settings.
The Community Safety Act
One of the first issues Williams took on as a council member was the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy. He sponsored the Community Safety Act, a landmark package of policing reforms 2,4. The legislation:
Created the NYPD's Office of Inspector General to investigate unlawful or unethical department practices.
Addressed the abuse of stop, question, and frisk, a practice that disproportionately affected communities of color and that a federal court ruled unconstitutional in 2013.
The City Council passed the Community Safety Act over a veto from then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, making it one of the most significant policing-reform measures of the era 2. Williams was re-elected to the council in 2013 3.
During his council tenure, Williams held a series of leadership and committee roles. He served as the council's deputy leader, as chair of the Task Force on City Workforce Equity, as vice chair of the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus, and as a founder of the council's Progressive Caucus [5, 6].
As Co-Chair of the council's Task Force to Combat Gun Violence, he helped launch New York's Crisis Management System, which funds Cure Violence groups using a community-centered, public-health approach to reducing shootings 2. He also sponsored "Ban the Box" legislation, which made it illegal for employers to ask job applicants about criminal convictions before extending a job offer 5. He was re-elected to the council again in 2017 3.
First statewide run for lieutenant governor
In 2018, Williams launched his first statewide campaign, challenging incumbent Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul in the Democratic primary 7. He ran as an independent progressive voice, arguing he would use the largely ceremonial office to challenge then-Governor Andrew Cuomo rather than serve as a loyal deputy 8.
Hochul defeated Williams in the September 13, 2018, Democratic primary by a margin of roughly 6.8 percentage points 9. Despite the loss, Williams won his home borough of Brooklyn as well as Manhattan, a performance that established him as a credible statewide progressive candidate 10.
Elected Public Advocate
When Letitia James resigned as Public Advocate to become New York Attorney General, a special election was triggered. On February 26, 2019, Williams won a crowded nonpartisan special election against 16 other candidates, taking about 33 percent of the vote 10,11. The runners-up included Queens Republican Council Member Eric Ulrich in second place and former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito in third 11.
Williams was sworn in as the city's Public Advocate on March 19, 2019 4. He then won a November 2019 general election to complete the remainder of James's term 4.
Re-elected to a full term
On November 2, 2021, Williams won re-election to his first full term as Public Advocate, defeating Republican Devi Nampiaparampil and other opponents 12. The Associated Press called the race for him shortly after polls closed 11. By this point, he had already begun signaling interest in another statewide run.
Run for governor
Williams formed an exploratory committee in September 2021 and formally announced his gubernatorial campaign on November 16, 2021, setting up a rematch with Hochul, who had become governor in August 2021 after Cuomo's resignation 13,14.
Running to Hochul's left, Williams campaigned on "good cause" eviction protections for tenants and passage of the New York Health Act, a single-payer healthcare proposal 15. He won the Working Families Party line for the race 3.
In the June 28, 2022, Democratic primary, Hochul won decisively. Per the state Board of Elections returns, Hochul took approximately 66.5 percent of the vote, Williams finished second with about 19 percent (164,409 votes), and Representative Tom Suozzi finished third with about 12.8 percent 16,17.
The Eric Adams succession question
In September 2024, Mayor Eric Adams was named in a five-count federal indictment. Because the Public Advocate is first in the line of mayoral succession under the City Charter, Williams's office drew sudden national attention as a potential acting mayor should Adams resign or be removed 18.
Williams did not formally call for Adams to resign but described the charges as serious, saying they had caused "chaos and confusion" in city government 18. The succession scenario ultimately did not occur, as the federal case against Adams was later dropped by the Trump Justice Department in early 2025.
Third term and the Mamdani era
Williams continued his activist-elected-official approach through 2025, including high-profile protests against ICE enforcement and against the second Trump administration's immigration policies 19. He also faced significant scrutiny in May 2025 over the foreclosure of a Brooklyn investment property, a matter covered in the controversies section of this series 20.
He was re-elected to a third term as Public Advocate and was sworn in on January 1, 2026, at the inauguration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. His emotional swearing-in speech, in which he addressed his younger self, was widely covered 21. With Mamdani's victory, Williams entered a period in which a fellow democratic socialist held the mayoralty, aligning the city's two top offices ideologically for the first time in his tenure.
New York City Council, 45th District: January 1, 2010, to March 19, 2019.
New York City Public Advocate: March 19, 2019, to present (re-elected 2019, 2021, and to a third term, sworn in January 1, 2026).
Unsuccessful Democratic primary candidate for Lieutenant Governor (2018) and Governor (2022).