Brooklyn City Councilman Jumaane Williams smashed the competition Tuesday night to become the next public advocate.
Williams captured 33 percent of the vote in the jampacked 17-person race, besting his closest rival by 14 points.
“I’m still in shock, I gotta tell y’all,” Williams told supporters in Brooklyn afterward.
The celebratory mood turned emotional as he acknowledged his struggles with mental health.
“I’ve been in therapy for the past three years, I want to say that publicly. I want to say that to black men who are listening,” said Williams, 42, struggling to complete his sentences.
“There was a time when the title I held was my identity, and that’s a dangerous thing. The best time came for me when I realized no matter what title I have, there is a space in the world for me and I can make incredible change.”
The evening capped a turbulent race during which news of Williams’ 2009 arrest — sealed after the charges were dropped — from a violent fight with his girlfriend leaked out in the final days.
There will be little time to rest for Williams. Tuesday’s vote was a special election to fill the seat left vacant when Letitia James became state attorney general. Petitioning to get on the ballot for the June primary is already underway.
The special election may end up costing as much as $22 million — almost $55 per voter.
The city Board of Elections estimated that staging the vote would cost between $11 million and $15 million. Additionally, city taxpayers shelled out another $7.2 million to provide public financing to the candidates who applied.
NY1 estimated that 9 percent of the city’s nearly 4.7 million active registered voters turned out.
Williams, a longtime activist, finished 14 points ahead of the second-place candidate, Queens Councilman Eric Ulrich, who captured 19 percent of the vote.
Ulrich, the lone elected Republican in the race, carried Queens and Staten Island, but couldn’t overcome Williams’ margins in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Former City Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan) won just 11 percent.
On paper, the public advocate’s position doesn’t look like much and it has no legislative power.
But the public advocate is first in line if the mayor is unable to complete his or her term, and the post has been used as a stepping stone to higher office.
In addition to James becoming AG, her predecessor, Bill de Blasio, used the gig as a launching pad to win the 2013 mayoral election.
Williams, though, has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to run for mayor and even in his victory speech declared, “To the mayor, I’m not running for your job!”
As Williams cruised Tuesday night, James tweeted, “This office has the power to make real and lasting change in the lives of New Yorkers and I look forward to working with you to improve our city each and every day.”
De Blasio — whom Williams has criticized — also offered his congrats.
“I know firsthand how important this office is to our city and I look forward to working with him,” he said in a statement.