NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Public Advocate Jumaane Williams promised Wednesday he would shake things up in Albany as he considers a run for governor in 2022.
Williams, who pitches himself as a further left progressive compared to the more center-leaning Gov. Kathy Hochul, told PIX 11 Wednesday morning that Albany needs a more radical departure from the past Cuomo administration.
“There is a culture there that is steeped in a lot of old ways of doing things; I think that’s very hard to renew unless you really shake it up in a very significant way,” Williams said.
Williams, who ran against Hochul in a tight 2018 lieutenant governor challenge, announced Tuesday he was launching an exploratory committee for a gubernatorial run in 2022. He argued that Hochul, Cuomo’s pick for lieutenant governor, was too closely tied to the administration’s operations to “renew” the state.
“What began to tip me over [toward running] was the need to recover and renew New York state when we come through this pandemic,” he added, “and it’s really hard to do that if we don’t change the infrastructure to allow the type of atmosphere we’ve seen for such a long time in Albany.”
Williams told NY1 Wednesday that he represents a “different way of doing politics.”
“It’s not just testing the winds; not just using toxicity, ego, not just making decisions based on what’s best for the individual — but what’s best for the people of the city and the state. And I have a lot of experience to do that,” he said.
Several other Democrats have also been speculated as potentially eying gubernatorial runs, including Attorney General Letitia James and Mayor Bill de Blasio.
When asked about a potential run for governor, de Blasio on Wednesday said he was still figuring out what his next race will be to stay in public service. When asked if he thought the next governor should be another white man, he said the state needs “people of all backgrounds” in office.
“I want to serve,” he said. “I’m going to figure out the right way to serve; the right time to serve...and I think as with all things, we need people who are committed to real change and we need people of all backgrounds to be involved in government.”
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