Outspoken City Councilman Jumaane Williams wants to shake up Albany. The Brooklyn lawmaker announced Monday he’s considering a run for the state’s number two job.

"Today, I’m announcing That I’m forming an exploratory committee toward the possibility of running for lieutenant governor of the state of New York," Williams said.

Williams had been thinking about a primary challenge to Governor Andrew Cuomo but decided it would make more sense to set his sights a little lower. If he runs, he’ll likely face Cuomo’s current lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, setting off a battle between the liberal and more centrist wings of the Democratic Party.

Elected to the City Council in 2009, Williams has a long history of progressive activism. He was arrested last week at a demonstration in support of detained immigration rights activist Ravi Ragbir. He was an early critic of stop-and-frisk policing and sponsored the city law banning employers from asking about a job applicant's criminal history until a job offer is made.

If he runs, Williams says he’ll focus his campaign on gun violence, education, housing and the MTA. 

"We need leaders who will forcefully advocate for progress no matter the political winds," he said. "I want to be the type of leader who does not go like this to test the wind. I want to be the type of leader who creates the winds people are responding to."

Williams made the announcement at a Martin Luther King Jr. event in Brooklyn and highlighted the fact that New York's current leaders on the federal, state and local levels are all white.

If he and Cuomo were to both prevail, it would set off a situation where the lieutenant governor could serve as a thorn in the side of the governor. Williams doesn’t necessarily see it that way.

"I have a job to do as lieutenant governor. My job is not to be oppositional for opposition sake. I believe my job is to raise the issues and push them forward," he said.

While Williams is not planning to run for governor, he does say that Cuomo deserves a primary challenge. However, he won’t name who he thinks that candidate should be.