When Jumaane Williams won the special election for New York City public advocate, he left a void in his old New York City Council seat.
Eleven candidates are running to represent the 45th City Council District in Brooklyn, which was formerly held by the current public advocate. The district includes the neighborhoods Flatbush, East Flatbush, Flatlands, Midwood and Canarsie. According to the 2010 Census, 76.1 percent of residents are Black (African-American and Caribbean-American).
One of the candidates running is Williams’ former deputy chief of staff and budget director Farah Louis. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Louis is seen as the front-runner to take over Williams’ seat. Her work in the community for organizations like the Haitian American Caucus, Haitian Centers Council and Flatbush Development Corporation and her push to promote financial literacy have earned her favor with Williams’ former constituents.
Another candidate with close ties to the current public advocate is Monique Chandler-Waterman. Waterman served as the director of community outreach for Williams for three years. She’s also served as a civilian adviser for the NYPD 67th Precinct and on the Youth Committee and Block Association Committee for Brooklyn Community Board 17. A decade ago, Waterman founded the non-profit East Flatbush Village Inc., a foundation that addresses the lack of youth services in the area.
But not all of the candidates have worked with Williams. Anthony Beckford has been a vocal critic of Williams’ tenure as city councilman and wants to replace him. Beckford, who’s the president of Black Lives Matter Brooklyn, has lobbied City Hall and Albany to criminalize 911 calls made based on discrimination. Beckford also leads the Brooklyn division of the Cop Watch Patrol Unit, an accountability group that monitors police interactions.
L. Rickie Tulloch is also running for Williams’ seat. Tulloch’s the senior director at NYC Health + Hospitals and chairman of the Visionary Political Action Committee. Tulloch’s served as the chairman of the board of Flatbush Action Community Day Care Center, a board member of the Erasmus Neighborhood Association and as treasurer/chair of the land use committee for Community Board 17.
Former business owner and economist Victor Jordan is also running for city council. Jordan once served as the chair of the land use and education committees for Community Board 17 and has run for the 42nd District State Assembly seat in 2014, 2016, and 2018 losing each time. He also lost an election for the 41st District City Council seat in 2017.
Former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Chief Anthony Alexis is also running for the city council seat. Alexis is also a former council aide and assembly aide who supervises publicly funded senior centers. He’s also a member of the Brooklyn College Alumni Board.
Jovia Radix, an attorney who served as New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Brooklyn regional representative and worked for the Brooklyn Democratic Party, is also running for the 45th City Council District seat. Radix’s currently a vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club Young Democrats.
Rounding out the candidates are former CUNY University Student Senate legislative director and CUNY Taskforce co-chair Hercules Reid (the youngest candidate at 26-years-old), Christoper Rose, Community Empowerment Campaign Managing Director of Policy and Advocacy Xamayla Rose, SSEU Local 371 Union Representative Jean Similien and comedian, activist and Instagram celebrity Adina Sash.
The special election will be held Tuesday, May 14.