The office of New York City Public Advocate (President of the City Council) is a citywide elected position in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, which is first in line to succeed the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. The office serves as a direct link between the

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district or c ...

and city government, effectively acting as an

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

, or watchdog, for New Yorkers.

History

The office was created in 1993, when the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

voted to rename the position of President of the City Council. Following the City Charter revision of 1989 which eliminated the powerful New York City Board of Estimate on which the president held a seat, the post was seen as largely ceremonial; its only notable responsibility was to cast the deciding vote in the City Council in the unlikely event of a tie, a power that was eliminated in 2001. At the time, it was thought likely that the post would be abolished altogether. The position survived, and has been held by Democrats throughout its history. Mark Green was the first public advocate and served through his unsuccessful run for Mayor in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

. Also in 2001, the City Council amended the city charter to transfer the public advocate's functions as presiding officer of the City Council to a Speaker elected from among the council members. Green's successor,

Betsy Gotbaum Elisabeth A. Gotbaum (née Flower; born June 11, 1938) is an American civil servant, politician and a former New York City Public Advocate. She was elected Public Advocate for New York City in 2001 and reelected in 2005. She was the third woman el ...

, thus had her role limited to being the city's de facto ombudsman. The 2009 election to succeed Gotbaum was highly competitive and was won by

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Y ...

, who later became the first public advocate to win the Mayor's office. The current public advocate is Jumaane Williams, following a special election on February 26, 2019.

Duties

The public advocate is a non-voting member of the

with the right to introduce and co-sponsor legislation. Prior to a 2002 charter revision, the Public Advocate was also the presiding officer of the Council. The public advocate also serves as an ombudsman for city government, providing oversight for city agencies, investigating citizens' complaints about city services and making proposals to address perceived shortcomings or failures of those services. These duties, worded somewhat ambiguously, are laid out in Section 24 of the City Charter. The public advocate serves on the committee which selects the director of the

New York City Independent Budget Office The New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) is a publicly funded agency of New York City that provides nonpartisan information about the city's budget and local economy to the public and their elected officials. The office has no policymakin ...

and appoints members to several boards and commissions, including one member of the New York City Planning Commission. The public advocate also serves as chairman of the Commission of Public Information and Communication established by Section 1061 of the New York City Charter. Along with the

and the

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level execut ...

, the public advocate is one of three municipal offices elected by all the city's voters. In the event of a vacancy or incapacity of the mayor, the public advocate is first in line to become mayor.

List of New York City public advocates

References

External links

* {{authority control Ombudsman posts

Public Advocate An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

History

Duties

List of New York City public advocates

See also

References

External links