Councilman Jumaane Williams made his bid for lieutenant governor official Friday — a move that will pit him against Gov. Cuomo’s choice, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul.
“The fact is whoever ran with the current governor was going to be his lieutenant governor,” Williams said. “I reject that. We need to be the people’s lieutenant governor.”
Williams will run against Hochul in a primary and, if he were to win, would appear on the Democratic ticket alongside Cuomo — of whom he has been critical.
“We need someone who is going to be steadfast, not just give lip service but do things,” Williams said.
Lt. Gov. Hochul plans on being Cuomo's running mate again in 2018
Williams’ name was floated as a potential gubernatorial candidate — which he called “pretty dope” — but he said he never floated himself for that office.
Others have floated such a run — including actress and activist Cynthia Nixon. But Williams said he hasn’t made any decisions about joining someone’s ticket — though he did expect that, were he to win the primary, he’d run with the winning gubernatorial candidate.
“If I’m running on a Democratic line, I’m going to be running as a ticket, but I am independent,” he said.