History
The office was created in 1993, when the New York City Council voted to rename the position of President of the City Council. Following the City Charter revision of 1989 which eliminated the powerful New York City Board of Estimate on which the President held a seat, the post was seen as largely ceremonial; its only notable responsibility was to cast the deciding vote in the City Council in the unlikely event of a tie. At the time, it was thought likely that the post would be abolished altogether.
The position nevertheless survived, and has thus far been held by three Democrats, Mark Green, Betsy Gotbaum, and Bill de Blasio. The 2009 election to succeed Gotbaum was highly competitive and was won by Bill de Blasio.
Read more about this topic: New York City Public Advocate
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“As I am, so shall I associate, and so shall I act; Caesar’s history will paint out Caesar.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I think that Richard Nixon will go down in history as a true folk hero, who struck a vital blow to the whole diseased concept of the revered image and gave the American virtue of irreverence and skepticism back to the people.”
—William Burroughs (b. 1914)
“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)