Factual Dispatch

So, there's an election in NYC soon! Because the previous Public Advocate is now the State Attorney General, In the last week of February, we get to choose this thing called a Public Advocate. They are ostensibly our "person in the room," who makes sure the government remembers we exist. They're like the Lorax, but they speak for the plebes. Because of that, the election does not have parties and anyone can run. This has led to 16 people seeking your vote next Tuesday (17 but she doesn't want to be on the ballot anymore), even though they'll be on the ballot again in the fall. I'm going to do my best to give you a touch of info on each, so you can make a slightly less uninformed choice in late Feb. In no particular order, the Round of 16 are:

• Melissa Mark-Viverito (Former City Council Speaker) - Christine Quinn's successor, previous city council district member and former Parks & Rec committee chair, she's one of the front runners. After sponsoring several criminal justice reform bills, she's got a bunch of recognizability and inertia and should make a respectable showing.

• Michael Blake (Assemblymember) - While Blake served as the Iowa deputy political director for Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, he's largely been away from NYC (where he grew up) until he returned and got into local politics in 2013. This will impede his campaign significantly, as he's more of an operator than a politician.

• Dawn Smalls (Attorney) - Serving as assistant to White House Chief of Staff Podesta & Bowles in the Clinton administration & as executive secretary under Kathleen Sebelius' Department of Health & Human Services during the Obama administration, she's got more political administrative experience than most if not all on this list. However, being a partner at the law firm that defended Weinstein & Theranos may not sit right with New Yorkers. 

• Eric Ulrich (City Council Member) - A Republican who has been mired in the bureaucracy of the Build-It-Back program post-Sandy, he'd be more of a candidate if he didn't pop off Trump-style on Twitter as often.

• Ydanis Rodriguez (City Council Member) - Ydanis has a great reputation outside of NYC, but after a 2014 scandal associated with him getting his wife a plush gov't job, and his recent failure to protect the Inwood community from overdevelopment & gentrification, I'm not expecting much support for him.

• Daniel O’Donnell (Assemblymember) - An early sponsor/midwife of the 2007 failed Marriage Equality Act, he's one of the more empathetic and dedicated state government members, and was named as a member of Out Magazine's "Out 100" list. I don't think he has a shot, but he could be a great Advocate if given the nod.

• Ron Kim (Assemblymember) - A bright, Gen-X'er, he's produced some thoughtful leadership on debt and the middle class, but suffers from essentially zero name recognition and having ideas that are just a little too actually modern for the era.

• Jumaane Williams (City Council Member) - Jumaane has had a complicated relationship with criminal justice but his initiatives have largely been seen as popular and successful by his constituents. He should make a strong showing but I'd be surprised if he won.

• Rafael Espinal (City Council Member) - From a policy perspective, there's a lot to like about Espinal. He secured a huge rezoning victory and $250 million in funding to revitalize his district by playing ball with de Blasio correctly back in 2017. And he's a fan of fully repealing the NYC Cabaret Law which needs to happen yesterday. 

• Benjamin Yee (Activist) - One of two full outsiders in the Public Advocate election, he's a heavily recognized face in the NYC political fundraising scene for over a decade, and is trying to make the jump from one side to the other.

• Manny Alicandro (Attorney) - The guy's campaign slogan is "Make NYC Great Again." What else do you need to know? 

• Nomiki Konst (Activist) - Bernie campaign surrogate Nomiki Konst might just be the sleeper in this horse race, managing to raise $80,000 in small dollar donations in a single day. Her campaign knows tech/messaging, and they have gotten enough coverage to pull away from the pack. 

• David Eisenbach (History Professor, Columbia) - While the professor failed to defeat Letitia James in 2017, he's a recognized figure in NYC academia, and his 3 books related to media, gay rights, and policy were well received.

• Helal Sheikh (City Council candidate) - Helal has been attempting to get elected off and on over the last decade, and faces some structural challenges to be anything but an also-ran in this crowded race. Having no policy positions on his home page is a big one.

• Anthony Herbert (Activist) - Herbert's claim to fame is trotting out a coffin to a PR stop in front of City Hall to ding de Blasio for doing a media tour back in 2015.

• Jared Rich (Attorney) - A lawyer by trade, the political unknown is hoping his social media strategy and outsider status will get his team over the line. I can't say I'd bet on him.

If you put a gun to my head, I'd say that the front-runners are Mark-Viverito, Jumaane Williams, and Espinal. The AOC/dark horse candidate in the race is absolutely Nomiki Konst and she shouldn't be ignored. The rest might pull in some support but from the candidates with axes to grind, clueless Republicans not knowing what city they're in, and the ones who are just LARP'ing politics with no real machine or vision, I don't expect much.

Eye-Watering Data Visualization: These are tire tracks from a machine apes built, left on another planet. The machine was only supposed to work for 90 days but kept going for 15 years. What we are capable of when we truly apply ourselves:

Vaguely Dystopian News of the Week: Pricing algorithms can learn to collude with each other. Also rural Chinese villages are bringing back propaganda loudspeakers.

Annoying-But-Correct Take of the Week: It's not about the Equal Pay Gap, it's about the Median Pay Gap."Huh, Interesting" Read of the Week: An FDA Advisory committee has formally recommended approving ketamine for intranasal use to help fight treatment resistant depression. This will change the world, and make Janssen a billion dollars.Dunk of the Week: I feel personally attacked by this relatable content.

With Amazon in retreat, what other insane, unlikely victories do you plan on celebrating this year?T