Carmen De La Rosa Wins Wash Heights' City Council Primary Race

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — A competitive City Council race in Northern Manhattan now has a winner: Carmen De La Rosa, who has defeated seven other Democrats in the race to succeed Ydanis Rodriguez in District 10.

De La Rosa, who already represents Upper Manhattan as an Assembly Member, won with relative ease in the final round of ranked-choice voting, securing about 60 percent of the vote against her closest rival Johanna Garcia, according to nearly complete results released on Tuesday.

Garcia won 40.3 percent of the vote, and Angela Fernandez was eliminated in the third round of ranked-choice voting with 21.6 percent.

"We did it! Thank you Uptown! I am so grateful to our beautiful community — the work continues," De La Rosa tweeted out on July 2.

District 10 includes Marble Hill, Inwood, and Washington Heights. In Central Harlem, newcomer Kristin Richardson Jordan appeared poised to upset incumbent Bill Perkins in the District 9 council race.

After initial results were posted last week, the ranked-choice tally was re-run on Tuesday, this time including more than 3,500 absentee ballots that have been returned in District 7. No one was able to catch De La Rosa, who served as Chief of Staff to Rodriguez before running for the Assembly position.

"Last night, our community went out to exercise its right to vote and shape the future of our city," De La Rosa said in a statement the day after Election Night. "I am immensely proud of my community, my team, and our fight for a more equitable New York City."

Major issues in the race included the Inwood rezoning project, gentrification and new development, the economic recovery from coronavirus, street cleanliness, and public safety.

Read More:

• Wash Heights Council Race: Who Will Succeed Ydanis Rodriguez?
• Washington Heights, Inwood City Council Race: Where Things Stand
• Uptown Council Candidate Disavows Controversial Super PAC Support
• Candidate's Cuban Ethnicity Targeted In Wash Heights Election

Patch reporter Nick Garber contributed to this report.