In a heated first debate of the Democratic major for New York Metropolis public advocate Thursday evening, incumbent Jumaane Williams and challenger Meeting Member Jenifer Rajkumar sparred over the workplace’s powers, allegations of office misconduct, and ties to Mayor Eric Adams.
The controversy, hosted by PIX11 and the town Marketing campaign Finance Board and co-sponsored by Schneps Media, mum or dad firm of New York News, turned combative early as Rajkumar accused Williams of masking up a severe incident involving his NYPD safety element and chief of employees.
“A woman was drugged and assaulted in your office, and she says that you covered it up,” Rajkumar stated through the debate. “I think you need to think about resigning.”
Rajkumar, a Queens Meeting Member and former civil rights lawyer, was referring to a June 4 NY1 interview through which a former staffer within the Public Advocate’s workplace, Ysabel Abreu, stated she was harmed by members of Williams’ NYPD safety element throughout a December workplace social gathering and described a poisonous office involving his chief of employees.
Abreu instructed NY1 she was hospitalized after the incident and later resigned, citing extreme well being impacts. Williams positioned his chief of employees on paid depart, reassigned two officers, and launched an unbiased investigation when the allegations had been first made 5 months in the past.
Williams denied the cover-up allegation on the talk stage, saying he took instant motion when the claims surfaced and referred the matter to a number of investigative our bodies.
“You can’t cover up something that you brought to the appropriate agencies,” he stated. “We took immediate steps to address [it].”
Talking after the talk, Williams referred to as Rajkumar’s demand for his resignation “very strange,” significantly coming from somebody with a authorized background.
“It was just a fabrication,” he stated. “For an attorney to make those kinds of accusations doesn’t make any sense… I acted transparently, immediately, and responsibly.”
The Inside Affairs Bureau and the Civilian Grievance Evaluate Board are presently investigating the claims, in accordance with Williams who stated his workplace’s personal probe has not uncovered substantive proof of wrongdoing however that the method stays ongoing.
“I didn’t want to close a report that had not done everything that we could to speak to as many people as possible,” he stated. He projected {that a} last report is perhaps prepared in “the next few weeks.”
Cartoons and sleeping till midday
The controversy, held on the PIX11 studio in Midtown Manhattan, continued to be tense as the 2 candidates attacked one another’s data, although the candidates did agree on hire regulation and housing affordability, with each candidates backing a hire freeze for stabilized items.
However Rajkumar accused Williams of hypocrisy, calling him “a slumlord who has pushed his own tenants out” and claiming he hadn’t paid his mortgage in 10 years. Williams responded through the debate that the declare was “not documented,” including, “I’ve never evicted tenants. Never.”
Williams addressed stories about his Brooklyn property, which was just lately misplaced to foreclosures over unpaid debt, saying he was in his 20s on the time and chasing his dream of proudly owning each a house and a restaurant.
He stated, like many younger Black New Yorkers at the moment, he ended up in a “sub-prime exploitive loan.”
“We’ve been transparent about this for 10 years,” Williams stated.
The 2 additionally addressed the town’s declining NYPD headcount. Each supported filling the 1,500 vacancies and providing raises to officers. Rajkumar argued that destructive rhetoric had damage police recruitment. She just lately acquired the backing of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Affiliation, the town’s largest police union.
“There’s so much vitriol directed at them, and unfortunately, the Public Advocate has been part of that,” she stated. Williams stated he by no means supported the “defund the police” slogan and emphasised the necessity to relieve officers of obligations like dealing with psychological well being crises.
“Law enforcement cannot do it alone,” he stated. “That’s why we need fully resourced departments of mental health and hygiene.”
The sitting Public Advocate additionally defended his report, saying, “We passed more pieces of legislation than all previous Public Advocates combined.”
He repeatedly returned to what he described because the workplace’s 5 charter-mandated obligations, criticizing Rajkumar for not with the ability to identify them through the debate.
The general public advocate is the town’s second-highest elected official, however the function has restricted formal authority. Serving as a public watchdog, the advocate investigates complaints about metropolis providers however has minimal energy past submitting stories to the Metropolis Council. Whereas the general public advocate can suggest laws affecting the whole metropolis, they don’t have a vote within the council.
In his closing remarks, Williams cited the Metropolis Constitution-mandated obligations of the general public advocate, saying he has used all these instruments and plans to make use of them once more if re-elected. “But there is so much more that needs to be done,” he stated.
Rajkumar stated his remarks that she didn’t perceive the function was “misogynistic“ painted Williams as an absentee officeholder, invoking satirical cartoons from her marketing campaign that present him asleep and disengaged.
“These cartoons really illustrate to New Yorkers the truth in this race,” she stated. “He doesn’t do the job. He’s the public absentee.”
One of many cartoons shared by Meeting Member RajkumarPhoto by Jenifer Rajkumar/X
“New Yorkers have told me that they love these cartoons,” she stated. “People set their alarms because they want to know when the next one is coming out.”
Williams dismissed the cartoons as racially stereotypical and disrespectful to his employees.
“When you have the New York Post defending Jumaane Williams, you’ve probably gone too far,” he stated. “That insult toward absenteeism is an insult to the civil servants who’ve answered over 10,000 calls and cases to assist New Yorkers.”
Nonetheless, Rajkumar doubled down in her post-debate remarks, confirming that new cartoons are within the works earlier than election day. On repeated claims from Rajkumar that he “sleeps until noon and then writes a press release attacking the mayor,” Williams stated, “I have a toddler, I wish I could sleep until noon.”
If elected, Rajkumar stated she’s going to give all the things she has for New Yorkers and switch the workplace of Public Advocate right into a “legal powerhouse.”
“If there are bureaucratic failures, I’m going to fix them,” she stated. “I’m going to fix them through collaborating with the mayor or through litigation if I have to.”
With Rikers Island now in receivership, the candidates differed on the visions of the way forward for the embattled jail. Williams stated the 2027 deadline for the jail to shut “the law” and stated it ought to be shuttered, saying neither the inmates or jail protected are protected there. Rajkumar stated the proposal to switch Rikers with borough-based jails exceeds the price range and that “nobody wants” them.
The 2 additionally diverged on their relationships with Mayor Eric Adams. Williams, a frequent critic, stated, he would watch out along with his phrases however that NYC can be higher off with out him – although he did give kudos for his coverage on rats.
Rajkumar declined a number of alternatives to criticize Adams or say whether or not she believed he engaged in quid professional quo conduct with the Trump admiration, saying she didn’t have all of the details.
Williams stated that being public advocate requires making robust selections, and argued that if Rajkumar can’t name out Mayor Adams, whom he likened to a “deputy president” to Trump, then she might not be fitted to the function, as a result of New Yorkers want somebody who will converse up when it counts.
“This isn’t about Eric Adams,” she stated. “I’m running to bring our city into the future.” Nonetheless, after the talk she acknowledged Adams is “an ally” and touted her capacity to work throughout authorities.
“That’s why I’m able to do impossible feats in Albany,” she stated. Rajkumar additionally branded herself “Trump’s worst nightmare,” citing her opposition to his agenda in Albany. She accused Williams of sharing Trump’s values, a cost he referred to as “the most interesting” of the evening.
On endorsements, Williams named Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander as his high two ranked-choice picks within the Democratic mayoral major. Rajkumar stated she has no plans to endorse anybody.
Each candidates stated they voted for Adams within the 2021 mayoral race, although Williams referred to as rating him “my biggest regret.” Rajkumar, who appeared continuously with the mayor at press occasions earlier than his indictment, was reported by Politico to have joined Adams at 151 appearances throughout 139 days.
On former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Rajkumar stated he had no reservations about him probably changing into mayor. On the talk stage she declined to say whether or not she regretted not calling for his resignation throughout his personal scandal. “I believe in due process,” she stated after the talk. “Everyone has the right to be heard.”
“My concerns are the mental health crisis, the public safety crisis, and the affordability crisis,” she stated through the debate. “This is what I’m going to focus on every single day. I would work with Cuomo, or I would oppose Cuomo. I would do whatever is necessary for the people of New York.”
Williams, in contrast, stated, “I need an hour to talk about my reservations about Cuomo,” accusing the previous Governor of political comfort. “People say whatever they think is needed to get elected, but they’re not really trying to help those that need the most help.”
Within the newest polling on the Public Advocate race by Emerson School Polling/PIX11/The Hill, Williams has a cushty lead over Rajkumar.
