When many candidates enter a political race, political insiders say the one with the most name recognition will probably win. When multiple people with name recognition enter a race, the saying is the person who raises the most money will win. There are a few candidates in the race for New York City public advocate who possess both of these qualities.

The position serves as watchdog over City Hall, but with very little power to actually effect change. Other public advocates have used the position as a steppingstone to something greater, including current New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Letitia James used the position to lift herself to becoming New York State attorney general. Last year, New York City Council Members Kalman Yeger, Ritchie Torres, Mark Gjonaj and Ruben Diaz Sr. co-sponsored a bill to eliminate the public advocate position entirely, claiming it has outlived its purpose.

But it’s still here, and it’s coveted by more than a dozen candidates.

So who has the best chance of becoming the next public advocate? Voter turnout could play a role. But do New Yorkers know who all of the candidates are? Mostly. However, the market is flooded. Candidates for public advocate will face off in a special election Feb. 26, but some candidates are more notable than others.

New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams looks to have the political wind at his back. Emerging as a favorite to win the public advocate seat, Williams has the money and the political cache to emerge victorious.

Last week, the City Councilman and former New York State lieutenant governor candidate submitted his second financial disclosure report to the New York City Campaign Finance Board. As of last week, his campaign had raised more than $119,000 in matching funds. He received more than 2,000 individual contributions—more than any other public advocate candidate. The report also showed that Williams received 85 percent of his campaign funds from donors in New York City.

“I’m excited and honored to have the support of the West Harlem Progressive Democratic Club and Ernest Skinner Political Association in our campaign to be the People’s Advocate,” Williams said in a statement. “These grassroots groups are powerful, progressive forces in New York City politics, so I look forward to working with them as we enter into the final stretch of this competitive campaign to continue our momentum and ensure that this city becomes a progressive beacon for all.”

Running on “The People’s Advocate” ticket, Williams is also the first candidate to use the television airwaves to push his candidacy. In one ad, he highlights living with Tourette syndrome and being out in front in favor of policies designed to curtail police misconduct. These policies include the 2013 Community Safety Act, which helped curtail NYPD’s controversial stop and frisk tactic. Williams was the lead sponsor on the bill.

While assuring that, “We had a winning campaign plan. The execution of the plan is going well.” Jumaane Williams told the Amsterdam News, “I won’t stop being concerned about my chances until 9:01 p.m. on Election Day.”

Williams said he stands firm on his reputation: “I have a strong history of making decisions based on what’s right for the people… I’ve passed 54 pieces of legislation, more than any city council member. The role of the charter is important to the public advocate position. The public advocate has the ability to make sure that agencies are doing their charter-mandated duties.”

Former Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has name recognition and familiarity under her belt. She also has the continuing support of New York’s Latino community and has consistently fought against anti-immigration policies and practices. Recently, Mark-Viverito wrote a letter to the Hon. Janet DiFiore, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals State of New York, calling on the judge to ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from local courthouses.

“Beyond unjustly terrorizing immigrants, these actions seem very likely to undermine access to justice across the state by discouraging immigrants to participate in judicial proceedings and otherwise participate in the judicial system—an outcome that I know is unacceptable to you,” stated Mark-Viverito, who’s running on the “Fix the M.T.A.” line. “Arrests in courthouses erode public trust in the judicial system, as the courts become hostile locations for immigrants.”

She continued, “Judges hold a critical responsibility to improve access to the judicial system, effectively manage court dockets and emphasize the court’s service ethos.” Last week, she received the endorsement of the organization Immigrant Action.

Running on the “For the People” line, current New York State Assemblyman Michael Blake is focusing his campaign on public entities such as education, hospitals, housing and transportation. Blake’s belief that basic needs have to be met for the most vulnerable New Yorkers to excel is popular among citizens and other candidates. Blake is also a gun control advocate. This week, the New York State Legislature passed a package of bills to ensure background checks and decrease the number of illegal guns on the street via a gun buyback program.

“Gun violence is an epidemic in our country. While thousands of innocent American lives are lost due to gun violence every year, previous Republican leadership in New York and Washington have done little to nothing to bring necessary change. It is now up to state and local leaders to lead,” Blake said in a statement.

Throwing her hat into the ring is self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, investigative journalist, political organizer and Bernie Sanders advocate Nomiki Konst. Running under the “Pay People More” line, Konst believes that the public advocate needs to return to its origin as watchdog of City Hall. She also supports a $30 minimum wage for city workers and any business with more than 75 employees.

“As the city with the worst income disparity in the country, New York will not turn that around by following the lead of other parts of the country where the cost of living is much lower. It has to lead, and a $30 minimum wage is the way to do it,” said Konst last week. “While $15/hour was a great success, it’s frankly not enough for any family to pay their rent anywhere in the U.S. We need to have bolder economic solutions to solve our affordability crisis in NYC.”

Konst recently received the endorsement of New York City Councilman Costa Constantinides.

When New York City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez announced that his priorities as public advocate would be assisting small businesses, dealing with rent stabilization, immigrant rights and fixing schools, it didn’t come as a surprise to some. Rodriguez has spent his time as an elected official highlighting the issues that affect his district and New York’s Latino community as a whole. But Rodriguez has recently caught flak from members of the city’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer community.

According to Gay City News, less than two years after he was ripped by LGBTQ activists for ties to anti-gay elected officials, Rodriguez received endorsements from Bronx Councilmembers Ruben Diaz Sr. and Fernando Cabrera. Both are conservative Democrats who have voted against bills that would have helped the LGBTQ community in the past. In 2017, Rodriguez lost endorsements from the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City and the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club because of his alignment with Diaz Sr.

Dawn Smalls currently serves as partner at the Boies, Schiller & Flexner law firm (where she focuses on financial crime, voter intimidation and the rights of undocumented immigrants), but her claim to fame is her ties to former President Barack Obama. Smalls served as the New York political director for Obama in 2008. She also served as an assistant to the White House chief of staff and as executive secretary to the Department of Health and Human Services. Smalls is running on the “No More Delays” line, referring to the city’s plan to provide poor and working class New Yorkers with half-priced MetroCards (they’re still waiting).

In a recent op-ed for the Gotham Gazette, Smalls said that the issues with the MTA are emblematic of the problems the city faces as a whole.

“The subway that built this city and made it great is crumbling beneath our feet, affordable housing is not affordable for working families, the homeless crisis is increasing at alarming rates among women and children and democracy reforms in New York have been woefully behind other states that are considered far less progressive,” Smalls wrote.

Current New York City Council Member Rafael Espinal Jr., running on the “Livable City” ticket, wants to make the city more affordable for working class and poor New Yorkers with a focus on housing and public transportation. Espinal is also an environmental activist expressing a desire to make the roofs of all buildings in the five boroughs green.

“I’m super concerned about the direction we’re heading in,” said Espinal to Errol Louis on NY1’s “Inside City Hall” program. Espinal said that he wants to use his position as public advocate to introduce legislation.

Recently, Espinal spoke out against the MTA raising the fare on New Yorkers, claiming that it’s not needed.

“We don’t need to raise fares for hardworking New Yorkers. If we simply stop rebating the existing tax on stock transfers, we could raise $11 billion a year to fix the subway and other transportation infrastructure without raising fares a cent,” stated Espinal.

With less than a month to go until the special election, New Yorkers have more than one choice to make.