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QUEENS WEEKLY, NOV. 3, 2019
Jumaane Williams is facing off against former City Council
colleague Republican Joe Borelli and Libertarian candidate
Devin Balkind in the race for Public Advocate.
BY BILL PARRY
In the only citywide election,
three men are in the
running for public advocate
office currently held by Jumaane
Williams.
Williams will face his former
City Council colleague
Republican Joe Borelli and
Libertarian candidate Devin
Balkind.
Williams took the office
in a special election after
Letitia James was elected as
state attorney general. His
term ends Jan. 1.
“Our city needs a public
advocate who can effectively
be an activist elected official
that rises above politics and
brings the voice of everyday
New Yorkers into the halls of
government,” Williams said
in a statement.
Williams’ top issues include
the affordable housing
crisis, increasing government
transparency and accountability,
criminal justice
reform and gun violence
prevention.
Borelli is chair of the
Committee on Fire and Emergency
Management, with
oversight over the FDNY, the
largest fire department in the
U.S., and the city’s Office of
Emergency Management.
The Staten Islander
gained some traction in
the race when he picked up
endorsements from all of
the major law enforcement
unions in the city, including
the Patrolmen’s Benevolent
Association.
“The New York City Police
Department represents the
best of what our city has to offer,
and I have never wavered
in my support for the officers
that serve our communities
each day,” Borelli said. “Our
cops will always have an ally
with me in office.”
Balkind is a technologist
and nonprofit executive who
is seeking a citywide directory
of social services, digital
transformation of city agencies
and tech-enabled MTA
and NYCHA reform.
“I’m a lifelong New
Yorker who’s spent the last
decade using technology to
help government, nonprofits
and startups save money and
improve people’s lives,” Balkind
said. “As public advocate,
I’ll turn the office into a
non-partisan, public-interest
technology organization
that builds software and offers
services that make government
faster, better and
cheaper.”
He promised to deliver solutions
that would strengthen
the social safety net,
improve the civic engagement
process and produce
websites that help New Yorkers
better understand how
their government works and
spends money.
Make sure to vote on
these ballot questions
BY BILL PARRY
Voters in Election 2019
will want to make sure they
check the back of their ballot
this year where they will
find five ballot questions on
proposals to amend the New
York City Charter, which
is the city’s Constitution,
that lays the framework for
government.
The first ballot question
involves ranked-choice
voting, vacancies and the
City Council redistricting
timeline.
A yes vote on this question
means the voter is in favor of
amending the city charter to
establish ranked-choice voting
to be used for primary
and special elections beginning
in 2021; to increase the
time between a city office
vacancy and the special election
to fill it from 45 days (60
for mayor) to 80 days; and
to change the timeline for
City Council redistricting
to complete it prior to City
Council nominating petition
signature collection.
A no vote for this question
would be a vote against
amending the city charter
and leaving it the way it is
currently constructed in
regards to voting in primaries
and special elections,
and the City Council
redistricting timeline.
Ballot question 2 is a vote
on the Civilian Complaint
Review Board Charter
Amendment.
A yes vote is a vote in
favor of amending the city
charter to add two members
to the 13-member CCRB —
one appointed by the public
advocate and one jointly by
the mayor and the speaker
of the City Council; allow to
the City Council to appoint
members directly without
the mayor having final appointing
authority; require
the CCRB annual budget to
be enough to hire employees
to equal to 0.65 percent
File photo/QNS
of the Police Department’s
uniformed officer headcount
unless the mayor determines
that fiscal necessity prevents
it; add to the city charter the
requirement that the city police
commissioner provide
the CCRB with a written
explanation whenever the
board’s disciplinary recommendations
aren’t followed;
authorize the CCRB to investigate
the truthfulness of
statements made during its
investigations of complaints;
and allow the CCRB to delegate
its authority to issue
and enforce subpoenas.
A vote no on ballot question
2 would leave the CCRB
the way it is right now.
Ballot question 3 looks to
amend the city’s Ethics and
Government Charter.
A yes vote is a vote to
amend the city charter to
increase the amount of time
after leaving service before
elected officials or senior appointed
officials can appear
before the city agencies in
which they served from one
year to two years; replace
two of the five members
on the Conflicts of Interest
Board appointed by the
mayor with a member appointed
by the comptroller
and a member appointed by
the public advocate; prohibit
members of the COIB from
involvement with city office
campaigns and restrict contributions
to COIB members
to campaigns between $250
and $400 depending on the
office; add to the city charter
a requirement to make Minority
and Women-Owned
Business Enterprise report
directly to the mayor and to
require a mayoral office for
the MWBE; and require City
Council confirmation of the
city’s corporation counsel
appointed by the mayor.
A no vote on this amendment
makes no changes to
the above issues.
Ballot question 4 seeks
to amend the city charter
regarding the city’s Budget
Charter as it relates to the
Revenue Stabilization Fund,
public advocate and borough
president budgets and reporting
by the mayor.
A yes vote is to allow a
rainy day fund to go into effect
with requires state law
changes; set minimum public
advocate and borough
president budgets based on
the 2020 fiscal year adjusted
based on inflation or the total
change in the city’s total
budget; move the deadline
for the mayor’s revenue report
(excluding property
taxes) to the City Council
from June 5 to April 26; and
set a deadline of 30 days for
the mayor to submit changes
to the city’s financial plan
requiring budget changes to
the City Council.
A no vote is a vote to keep
these elements of the city
budget the same as they currently
stand.
Ballot question 5 relates
to the city’s Land Use Charter
by seeing to change the
Uniform Land Use Review
Procedure (ULURP).
A yes vote is in favor of
amending the city charter
to require the Department
of City Planning to provide
a summary of ULURP projects
to the borough president,
board and community
board.
Affected by the project
30 days prior to when the
project application is certified
for review by the public
and increase the amount of
time allowed for review of the
ULURP projects by the affected
community boards from
60 days to either 75 days or 90
days, depending on timing.
A no vote is a vote against
these changes and to leave
the ULURP process the
same.
Williams looks to fend
off two challengers in
public advocate race
ELECTION 2019