Melissa Mark-Viverito Running For NYC Public Advocate

NEW YORK — The crowded field of candidates for New York City public advocate grew again Tuesday as former City Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito threw her hat in the ring. The East Harlem Democrat declared her candidacy for the soon-to-be-vacant post less than a year after leaving the helm of the city's legislature.

In a campaign video, Mark-Viverito touted her fights for causes that other leaders, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, dismissed as too difficult or dangerous, such as closing Rikers Island and providing free lawyers for undocumented immigrants.

"Every time, we brought community leaders, elected officials and activists to the table, and got it done," she said. "Our voices are our strength. No matter how many times those in power try to silence us, we must keep speaking up and demanding a more just, more equitable, more fair city."

Mark-Viverito is set to formally launch her campaign with a Tuesday evening rally at Borough of Manhattan Community College, flanked by other elected officials including Carmen Yulin Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Councilwomen Margaret Chin and Diana Ayala.

Mark-Viverito is among more than half a dozen candidates to officially seek the public advocate's office in a special election early next year after the incumbent, Letitia James, leaves to become the state attorney general.

Other hopefuls include state Assemblymen Michael Blake and Danny O'Donnell; Councilman Jumaane Williams; former Hillary Clinton campaign staffer Dawn Smalls; activist and journalist Nomiki Konst; Columbia University professor David Eisenbach; and political activist Theo Chino.

As the first Latina Council speaker, Mark-Viverito pushed the city to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement authorities and advocated for closing the infamous Rikers Island jail complex, a cause that has since been embraced by the de Blasio administration.

She has also been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, particularly his administration's tepid response to the damage Hurricane Maria wrought on her native Puerto Rico.

In her campaign video, Mark-Viverito indicated she would fight for New Yorkers amid other officials' bickering over problems such as the city's beleaguered subways and public housing. And she suggested she wouldn't let expectations of her gender stand in her way.

"Every day someone tells me I’m too harsh, too brutally honest, too confrontational," she said. "And would they say that to a man? I don’t think so."

(Lead image: Former City Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is seen in December 2017. Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for Housing Works, Inc.)