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As she announced that she was running for public advocate in November, Melissa Mark-Viverito, the first Latino speaker of the City Council, seized on an undeniable racial truth: The core group of people leading New York City was all white.

And Ms. Mark-Viverito, 49, is far from the only one to have noticed.

In the Feb. 26 special election for public advocate, roughly two-thirds of the 17 candidates are minorities and four are women, and many have made the need for more diverse representation a prominent part of their campaigns.

Whoever wins would have an instant platform to run as mayor in 2021, when Mayor Bill de Blasio leaves office because of term limits, especially in a city where 65 percent of the population is black, Latino or Asian.

“People of color are not being represented as we should,” said Michael A. Blake, 36, a black assemblyman from the Bronx who is running for the position. “In a city as diverse as we are, it’s essential that the next public advocate is a person of color.”