Category Archives: 2019 Public Advocate’s Race

Photo Gallery: Downtown Dem Clubs PA Forum



A group of downtown Manhattan Democratic Clubs jointly sponsored a public advocate candidate forum at the Educational Alliance’s Manny Cantor Center on East Broadway.  The Grand Street Democrats and several other Clubs co-sponsored the forum.

The forum drew 13 candidates who appeared in three panels before an audience of approximately 150 people: Panel #1 – Melissa Mark-Viverito, Eric Ulrich, Dawn Smalls and Rafael Espinal, Panel #2 – Ydanis Rodriguez, Ben Yee, Ron Kim, Jumaane Williams and Nomiki Konst and Panel #3 – Manny Alicandro, David Eisenbach, Tony Herbert and Jared Rich.

Clubs and organizations sponsoring the forum included Downtown Independent Democrats, Henry Street Settlement, United Democratic Organization, Coalition for a District Alternative, Village Independent Democrats, Village Reform Democratic Club, Chinese American Planning Council, United Neighborhood Houses, New Downtown Democrats, University Settlement, Grand Street Settlement and OCA-New York.

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Our full photo gallery is available here.

Photo Gallery: Board of Elections Hearing



The Board of Elections made final determinations on the public advocate special election ballot, setting a ballot of 17 candidates.

The Board eliminated five candidates who sought to be on the ballot,  Ify Ike, Theo Chino, Mike Zumbluskas, Danniel Maio and Walter Iwachiw.  All but Ike were eliminated for filing insufficient signatures on their petitions while Ike was eliminated for failing to timely file a certificate of acceptance.  The Board placed candidate Helal Sheikh on the ballot despite Board staff having previously ruled he was ineligible due to a failure to identify on his petitions the election he was seeking to run in.

In a marked paradox the Board refused to remove candidate Latrice Walker from the ballot despite her attorney’s express request.  Walker submitted sufficient petition signatures and other required documents but subsequently decided to drop out of the race.  The Board ruled that it did not have authority to remove Walker and she is on the final ballot.

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Our full photo gallery is available here.

Photo Gallery: Jackson Heights PA Forum



Nine candidates attended a public advocate candidate forum at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights sponsored by the New Visions Democratic Club, the Lesbian & Gay Democratic Club of Queens and the  John F. Kennedy Democratic Club.  Participating candidates included David Eisenbach, Michael Blake, Jared Rich, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Rafael Espinal, Tony Herbert, Jumaane Williams, Ben Yee and Dawn Smalls.  Council Member Danny Dromm was the sole elected official to attend.  Dromm said that he has not endorsed a candidate in the special election and is uncertain whether he’ll do so.

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Our full photo gallery is available here.

Public Advocate Candidate Photo Gallery: Ballot Edition



Who are they?  Here’s a photo gallery of the public advocate candidates to help you get to know them.  We published an early photo gallery featuring 21 prospective candidates, and the group later rose to 31. We’ve ended up with a reduced, though still quite large, field of 17.

The Board of Elections set the final ballot at a hearing Tuesday, ruling on the validity of several candidates contested petitions.  17 candidates were approved and will be on the ballot, although not all willingly.   Assembly Member Latrice Walker’s campaign attorney said that despite having submitted sufficient petitions and qualifying for the ballot Walker does not intend to campaign and unsuccessfully sought to have her removed from the ballot.  We’ve included Walker in our photo gallery.

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Our full photo gallery is available here.

Continue reading Public Advocate Candidate Photo Gallery: Ballot Edition

Stonewall Endorses O’Donnell



The Stonewall Democratic Club endorsed Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell for public advocate Wednesday night, choosing to support the first openly gay man elected to the New York State Assembly.  Former Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Assembly Member Michael Blake also energetically sought the endorsement, with Mark-Viverito speaking at the endorsement meeting and Blake addressing the club via face time as he rode the train from Albany to New York City after an Assembly session.

Council Member Jumaane Williams also appeared in person at the endorsement meeting but conceded in his opening remarks that he was unlikely to win the endorsement.  He faced questions on both having contributed money to candidates seen as anti-LGBTQ and on past positions on several issues, including bans on “conversion therapy” and not supporting GENDA.

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Our full photo gallery is available here.

Photo Gallery: GMHC PA Candidate Forum



Eleven candidates, ten of whom expect to be on the February 26th special election ballot, joined a forum focused on health issues including HIV/AIDS prevention and education, substance use, mental health, LGBT rights, and discrimination.  Sponsored by GMHC and hosted by the New School, the forum was moderated by NY1 reporter Grace Rauh and featured candidates Theo Chino, David Eisenbach, Nomiki Konst, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Jared Rich, Dawn Smalls, Jumaane Williams and Ben Yee. Rafael Espinal participated in much of the forum, departing before it concluded, and Latrice Walker joined for the last few minutes.  Daniel Christmann also participated; he’s a self-described candidate but did not submit petitions to the Board of Elections and will not appear on the February 26th ballot.

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Our full photo gallery is available here.

Photo Gallery: King Day at the House of Justice



The Rev. Al Sharpton drew  a large contingent of elected officials to his annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at National Action Network’s House of Justice.  Headliners included U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Mayor Bill de Blasio and U.S. Reps. Jerry Nadler, Hakeem Jeffries, Yvette Clarke and Carolyn Maloney.  NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, Council Speaker and Acting Public Advocate Corey Johnson, NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and NYS Senate Temporary President and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins also spoke.

Several of the public advocate candidates participated, including Assembly Members Latrice Walker, Michael Blake and Danny O’Donnell, Council Members Jumaane Williams and Rafael Espinal, former Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Dawn Smalls.  Walker, Blake, O’Donnell and Smalls were given speaking slots.  Former mayor David Dinkins and former congressman Charles Rangel appeared, sitting onstage in the front row for the full program.

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Our full photo gallery is available here.

Photo Gallery: Fresh Meadows Forum



The Saul Weprin Democratic Club and 13 of its fellow Queens Democratic clubs hosted a public advocate candidate forum in Fresh Meadows, drawing nine candidates.  Moderated by Saul Weprin Club President Anthony Lemma, the forum featured appearances by Dawn Smalls, Ben Yee, Danny O’Donnell, David Eisenbach, Latrice Walker, Michael Blake, Rafael Espinal, Ron Kim and Ydanis Rodriguez.

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Our full photo gallery is available here.

Photo Gallery: Liberal Party Endorses Espinal



The Liberal Party endorsed Rafael Espinal for public advocate, with executive director Martin Hassner joining Espinal for a brief press conference outside of the public advocate’s office in the Municipal Building Wednesday.

The Liberal Party is a dramatically smaller force in New York politics since losing its ballot line in 2002, a bitter fate suffered not long after its modern zenith in the 1993 election of Rudy Giuliani.  The endorsement is nonetheless a positive for Espinal, although it’s unclear how substantial an effort the Liberal Party is able to mount in support of his candidacy.

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Our full photo gallery is available here.

Photo Gallery: Sustainability Public Advocate Candidate Forum



Fourteen public advocate candidates participated in a forum at Brooklyn Law School focused on sustainability and the environment.  Moderated by Politico reporter Gloria Pazmino and sponsored by the New York League of Conservation Voters, the forum was the first to focus on sustainability.  Candidates participating included Ben Yee, David Eisenbach, Dawn Smalls, Eric Ulrich, Ify Ike, Jared Rich, Jumaane Williams, Latrice Walker, Michael Blake, Mike Zumbluskas, Nomiki Konst, Rafael Espinal, Walter Iwachiw and Ydanis Rodriguez.

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Our full photo gallery is available here.

Ulrich at Staten Island GOP



Public advocate candidate Eric Ulrich held a meet & greet Saturday afternoon at Staten Island Republican headquarters, drawing a small audience for a petitioning pep talk.  Two Staten Island Republican elected officials, Ulrich’s fellow Council Member Steve Matteo and Assembly Member Mike Reilly, joined Ulrich for a public display of their support.  Council Member Joe Borelli was expected to attend but cancelled due to a conflicting personal event.  Staten Island Republican Party Chairman Brendan Lantry attended and hosted the speaking program.  The party has endorsed Ulrich.

Continue reading Ulrich at Staten Island GOP

Photo Gallery: East Side Dem Club PA Forum



A large group of East Side Democratic clubs hosted a public advocate candidate forum Thursday night, drawing 13 aspiring advocates and an audience of 150-200 people to the New York New Church on East 35th Street.

Candidates participating included Ify Ike, Nomiki Konst, Dawn Smalls, Rafael Espinal, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Danny O’Donnell, Latrice Walker, Jumaane Williams, Michael Blake, Ben Yee, Ron Kim, David Eisenbach and Theo Chino.  Gwen Goodwin attended part of the forum and was introduced by the moderators, but did not participate or address the audience.  Sponsoring clubs included the Eleanor Roosevelt Club, Four Freedoms Club, Tilden Democrats, GSID, East River Democrats, Village Independent Democrats, Chelsea Democrats and Manhattan Young Democrats.

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Our full photo gallery is available here.

Blake Adds Endorsements



Assembly Member Michael Blake rolled out additional endorsements Thursday, announcing support from fellow Bronx elected officials.  NYS Senator Luis Sepulveda, Assembly Member Nathalie Fernandez and Council Member Rafael Salamanca appeared with Blake on the steps of the Bronx County Civil Courthouse.  Campaign co-chair Nathalie Molina Nino also joined them, with Molina Nino MC’g the press conference.

Continue reading Blake Adds Endorsements