During a Dec. 14 meeting of local Conservative Party candidates, public advocate contender Angela Aquino criticized incumbent Jumaane Williams, claiming he was disconnected from the experiences of most Black Americans and even questioned his racial identity.
“Currently, we have an incumbent that presents himself as a Black person. But is he really Black?” said Aquino in a speech before about two dozen attendees in the Bronx. She explained that in her view, Williams has not received real punishment for his multiple civil disobedience arrests, including a 2018 incident in which he was arrested during a protest and convicted of blocking an ambulance.
“The most that happened to him was suffer[ing] a stop and frisk. And he cried like a big baby when we know that the real Black person really gets arrested and gets convicted. That’s Black.”
Aquino questioned why Williams “has the nerve to say he can relate to the Black and brown community who has barely nothing to eat?” The Bronx Times reached out to Williams’ office and is awaiting a response.
Aquino described herself in her speech as a community activist and has over 25,000 followers on Instagram.
After the speeches ended, Aquino confirmed to the Bronx Times that she stood by her comments about Williams, including questioning his race. “I’m not backing down on that,” she said.
Aquino said Williams is “so disconnected to what’s really going on in the community,” as evidenced by his advocacy for congestion pricing and support of asylum seekers. “I didn’t see him do that [level of support] for Black people, frankly,” she said.
Aquino, who described her own race as Asian-American, said that her experience as a single mother who has experienced domestic violence, as well as advocacy work with incarcerated people, has put her closer than Williams to the reality of Black people’s lived experience.
Compared to his arrest for blocking an ambulance during a protest, “Black people receive so much more pain and injustice than that,” she said.
Williams, a former city council member and gubernatorial candidate, has held the public advocate role since 2019 and is running for re-election in 2025. Campaign finance records show other candidates as Theo Chino-Tavarez, Christian Matthew, Sarah Medina, Diamond Monroe, Austin Pieters, Calvin Sun, Sherena Williams and Marty Dolan, who unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the 2024 Democratic primary.
The public advocate is second in line to the mayor and is a non-voting member of city council with the power to put forth legislation, and the office provides oversight and handles complaints about city services. Public advocate, mayor and comptroller are the only municipal seats elected by all New York City voters.
Aquino said in her speech that Williams has done little to combat antisemitism taking place during pro-Palestinian protests and that Democrats’ policies in general have caused undue suffering for single mothers like her. “I’m here because I know that the city deserves a champion, and it’s not him.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
