We don’t know who the Democratic nominee for Public Advocate is yet, but it will either be Brooklyn City Councilmember Bill De Blasio or former Public Advocate Mark Green. The two will have a runoff on September 29 to determine that since no candidate running in the September 15 primary garnered the required 40 percent vote.
De Blasio scored an upset win with 33 percent of the vote to Green’s 31 percent with 100 percent of the precincts reporting. Queens City Councilmember Eric Gioia finished third with 18 percent of the vote, attorney Norman Siegel fourth with 14 percent and Imtiaz Syed fifth with 4 percent.
“Are you ready for a runoff?” De Blasio told supporters who gathered on Tuesday night to celebrate his campaign efforts. “The people have spoken this evening and the people want change.”
During the campaign, De Blasio trailed Green in a number of polls – many by double digits in the weeks leading up to the September 15 primary. De Blasio helped spearhead the fight against extending term limits last year.
“The Public Advocate has to be resourceful and creative and be able to take on any of the powers that be to protect the people’s interest,” De Blasio told The Courier last month.
Meanwhile, Green, who was widely considered the front-runner and did not campaign as much as the other candidates, is confident regarding his chances in the runoff against de Blasio.
“But now, after some 50 four-way candidates’ evenings and forums, we finally have a one-on-one contest where New Yorkers can contrast and compare two very different people with very different records,” Green said Tuesday night. “Who do voters best trust to make sure that city services are getting to those who need them and that we provide a check and balance to a powerful mayor?”
The Public Advocate’s Office, which is currently occupied Betsy Gotbaum, who did not seek reelection, suffered a 40 percent budget cut in last year’s budget and some people called for the elimination of the position entirely.
Currently, the City Charter dictates that the Public Advocate would succeed the Mayor should he be forced to resign or leave office. All of the candidates who campaigned vowed to restore credibility to the office.
“We have to make the government respond to the people, and I think the Public Advocate is in a position to do that if the position is handled correctly,” De Blasio told The Courier last month.
