Aridia Espinal (born c. 1988) is an American politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

She was born in Queens, the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. She is a cousin of former Assembly member and former New York City councilman

Rafael Espinal Rafael L. Espinal Jr. (born June 30, 1984) is an American politician and non-profit executive. A Democrat, he represented the 37th district of the New York City Council, which includes portions of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Bushwick, ...

. She entered politics as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, and was an aide to Assemblyman Francisco Moya. After Moya's election to the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

, Espinal was nominated to run in a special election to fill the vacancy. She was elected on April 24, 2018, and took her seat in the

202nd New York State Legislature The 202nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4, 2017, to December 31, 2018, during the seventh and eighth years of Andrew Cuomo's governorship, in Albany State ...

. On September 11, 2018, Espinal lost the Democratic primary to

Catalina Cruz Catalina Cruz (born 1982/1983) is a Colombians, Colombian-Americans, American attorney from the borough of Queens in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party and former undocumented immigrant (DREAM Act, ...

. In the general election on November 6, 2018, Espinal ran on the Working Families Party and the Women's Equality Party lines for re-election, but was again defeated by Cruz.

Personal life

Ari Espinal is the legal guardian of an elderly man named Clayton Cameing, who is almost twice her age, as of the year 2013. Clayton has a developmental disability. His mother worked in the building that houses Francisco Moya's former New York State Assembly office in Queens where Ari worked. Clayton and his mother lived in Brooklyn. She died in 2013 and Ari gained guardianship of Clayton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinal, Ari 1980s births American politicians of Dominican Republic descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state) Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people Politicians from Queens, New York Women state legislators in New York (state) Working Families Party politicians Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly 21st-century American women