On Sept. 29, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams spoke in Foley Square alongside Democratic Lt. Gov. nominee Adrienne Adams, Brad Lander and other community advocates. He endorsed the Hochul-Adams ticket, discussed the urgency of preventing gun violence and criticized Hochul\u2019s opponent, Republican Bruce Blakeman. The appearance was a part of Adams\u2019 tour titled \u201cThe Cost of Blakeman.\u201d Williams spoke with City & State about the Mamdani administration, the governor\u2019s race and his advocacy priorities. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m curious about your position on Gov. Kathy Hochul and her running for reelection. You previously criticized her for her resistance to taxing the wealthy. Have you had any further conversation on this issue?<\/p>\n
I mean, I think I\u2019ve had a lot of criticism and critique. I think I\u2019ve been very clear: I think that many Democratic leaders made poor decisions that actually brought us to Donald Trump. So I\u2019ve been very clear about that, and the insistence that I don\u2019t think there\u2019s enough of an autopsy in what happened and how we got here. With that said, I\u2019m asking folks who joined me in that critique to let that critique be known by voting on the (Working Families Party) line, so that way we can provide critique without creating harm.<\/p>\n
And when it comes to her tax policy, do you think that the pied-\u00e0-terre tax<\/a> on luxury second homes is a good solution, or do you think that it needs to go further?<\/p>\n Oh, we absolutely need to go further. We need to literally tax the wealthy in a very real, intentional way. I\u2019m happy that we have the pied-\u00e0-terre tax, it\u2019s something that we did not have before. It\u2019s something that we have to push for. I feel like we maybe need to push a little harder than I hoped we would have to. But again, if you look at the two choices, you\u2019re not going to get that from Bruce Blakeman. Quite the opposite. He might do the same kind of transfer of wealth from the poor and working-class folks to wealthy people, like Donald Trump did. So, if you are liking paying more based on Donald Trump\u2019s policies, that\u2019s what you get from Bruce Blakeman. So, again, right now the choice is between two folks on Nov. 3, and we have to be clear and definitive that we\u2019re not going to allow Bruce Blakeman, the mini Trump, to be the governor of the state.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no secret that you have been critical of the governor, but when it comes to this election cycle, what do you two agree on? And do you think that there are any issues in particular that Hochul has handled very well?<\/p>\n Well, I think, as you mentioned, the pied-\u00e0-terre tax. Since she\u2019s become governor, much better on gun issues, and there\u2019s a clear gulf in between how she views concealed carry bans, getting permits for people with guns, versus Bruce Blakeman. Since she\u2019s become governor, there\u2019s a gulf between what she thinks of ICE, and the militia and immigrant New Yorkers, and Bruce Blakeman, who has nephews on the militia who are armed, who believes in the militia, who wants to cause harm to New Yorkers, whose own county has a 10-year high in violent crime. So, there\u2019s a world of difference. What she\u2019s done with helping the mayor here on 2-K <\/a>is also something that\u2019s very laudable. So there’s a lot of points of agreement, and I want to continue to push even further on those points. I\u2019d rather have to push someone where there is some alignment than someone who\u2019s going to be horrific in everything that people care about in this state.<\/p>\n What are your thoughts on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s performance thus far? What do you think he\u2019s done well, and what would you like to see him prioritize going forward?<\/p>\n What\u2019s amazing to me, he\u2019s accomplished a lot of things in the past few months that I think people should be like, \u201cWow, how did you get that done so quickly?\u201d I think he\u2019s made some campaign promises that he wanted to do, and then he went out and started doing a lot of them, so that\u2019s very laudable. There\u2019s always, you know, things you want to push a little bit. So we\u2019re going to continue to push on issues. And my job as public advocate is to make sure that every voice is heard, all the issues are pushed forward. So I\u2019m enjoying this administration. Obviously, the last one was terrible, so I\u2019m very glad that\u2019s gone. I think that\u2019s better for everybody in this city, and most importantly, the voters have been very clear about what type of leader they want, and so the Mamdani election, I think, is just a great move forward.<\/p>\n Are there any proposed policies or ideas, or things that Mamdani\u2019s already executed on, that you\u2019ve been a fan of?<\/p>\n