Letitia James

Who is Letitia James?

Letitia A. "Tish" James is the current and fourth ever New York City Public Advocate. She is an American lawyer, activist and politician in the Democratic Party. She previously served as a member of the New York City Council, representing Brooklyn's 35th Council District, which includes the neighborhoods of Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, parts of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant. James has also chaired the Economic Development and Sanitation Committees, and serves on the committees for Parks & Recreation, Small Business, Technology in Government, Veteran Affairs, and Women's Issues.

In 2013, James ran for New York City Public Advocate and received 36% of the vote in the first Democratic primary, under the 40% threshold to avoid a runoff election. However, James won the Democratic runoff on October 1, 2013 against Daniel Squadron, 59%–41%, becoming the party's nominee for the city's elected watchdog position in November. Without a Republican opponent, James subsequently won the general election with over 83% of the vote.