Diana Ayala Wins Re-Election In East Harlem City Council Race

EAST HARLEM, NY — Diana Ayala has been re-elected to another term representing East Harlem in the City Council, holding an insurmountable lead based on the early vote returns, according to a projection by NY1.

With nearly all in-person votes counted, Ayala had won 56.2 percent of first-choice votes, with Tamika Mapp in second place at 29.2 percent.

Ayala, who has represented District 8 since 2018, had raised far more money than Mapp, who is an insurance company founder and Democratic State Committeewoman.

Other Harlem City Council races in District 9 and District 7 remained uncalled Wednesday, with weeks to go before ranked-choice ballots have been tabulated.

Still, Mapp had a strong showing last year when she challenged incumbent State Assemblymember Robert Rodriguez, winning 44 percent of the vote. This year's Council contest did not appear to be as close, though many votes remain uncounted.

Tuesday night's results include only the first-choice, in-person votes cast in District 8. Final results will not be known until mid-July, when absentee ballots have been counted and voters' second through fifth choices have been factored into the ranked-choice calculation.

Ayala was also being challenged by Antoinette Glover and Manuel Onativia, who had 9.2 and 4.4 percent of the early first-choice votes, respectively.

The winner of the Democratic primary will be unopposed in November's general election, where no other parties are fielding a candidate.

Major issues in the District 8 race included gentrification and housing affordability, the placement of methadone clinics for drug treatment in the neighborhood, and dirty streets during the pandemic.

Ayala, a former chief of staff for ex-Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito, was elected to the District 9 seat in 2017 to replace her former boss.

District 8 includes both East Harlem and parts of the South Bronx.