Yudelka Tapia (born November 9, 1963) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who is currently representing the 86th district in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

since 2021.

Early life and education

Tapia was born in

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

. Raised in what she described as "a family of organizers", Tapia described her father as "a revolutionary" who "fought in the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

against the invasion of the Yankees in 1965." Tapia became involved in social activism at O&M College, where she founded and led the ''Unión Democrática de Mujeres'' as the group's president. She immigrated to the United States at age 19, settling in the

West Bronx The West Bronx is a region in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The region lies west of the Bronx River and roughly corresponds to the western half of the borough. The West Bronx is more densely populated than the East Bronx, and is close ...

, and attended

Bronx Community College The Bronx Community College of the City University of New York (BCC) is a public community college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. History The college was established in 1957 through the eff ...

in the 1990s. Tapia later earned a master's degree in urban policy and leadership from

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

Career

Tapia worked as an auditor for the City of New York for 23 years. She served as a local Democratic district leader and as president of the parent teacher association at Theodore Roosevelt High School. In the

2021 New York City Council election The 2021 New York City Council election were held on November 2, 2021. The primary elections were held on June 22, 2021. There were several special elections for seats vacated in 2020 and early 2021; these special elections were the first to use ...

, Tapia unsuccessfully ran to represent the

14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...

district, losing to

Pierina Sanchez Pierina Ana Sanchez (born June 10, 1988) is an American politician from the Bronx, New York City. Since 2022, Sanchez has represented the 14th district on the New York City Council, encompassing Kingsbridge, Fordham, University Heights, and Tr ...

. Following assemblyman Victor Pichardo's resignation announcement, Tapia announced her candidacy to replace him. Tapia was nominated as the candidate of the Democratic Party and won the special election to succeed Pichardo. Tapia has endorsed

Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the firs ...

's campaign in the 2022 gubernatorial election.

Personal life

Tapia is the mother of four children.

References

American politicians of Dominican Republic descent Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States Living people New York (state) Democrats Hispanic and Latino American women in politics 21st-century American politicians Politicians from the Bronx Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state) Hunter College alumni Bronx Community College alumni 1963 births {{NewYork-NYAssembly-stub