With just days left before he faces 16 other candidates in a special election for public advocate, City Councilmember Jumaane Williams was forced to admit getting arrested over a 2009 fight with his then-girlfriend.
In a prepared statement, Williams (D-Brooklyn) said, “Over 10 years ago, I had a verbal disagreement with my then partner. To bring down the volume, I left the apartment to pick up dinner for both of us, return, and let cooler heads prevail.”
When he got back, Williams said, two cops were waiting and arrested him “per protocol at the time.”
“Once details of the situation became clear, the charges were dropped and the case was sealed,” said Williams, who’s among 17 candidates vying to succeed Letitia James, who was elected state attorney general last year.
Another candidate, former Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, said Williams’ statement “leaves numerous questions unanswered” and called on him to give “a full account of what happened.”
“Half-truths and incomplete explanations do a disservice to all New Yorkers,” she said.
Assemblyman Michael Blake (D-Bronx) also said, “The public has a right to know the truth behind these allegations.”
The election is Tuesday.