Harlem Election Guide: What To Know About The 2022 Assembly Races

HARLEM, NY — It's election season in Harlem, and residents can cast ballots this week in a number of local races — including three different primaries for State Assembly.

All three of the neighborhood's Assembly districts have competitive Democratic primaries this year, with early voting already underway. (Election Day itself is June 28; find your polling site here.)

Besides State Assembly, this month's election also features the statewide primary for governor, plus other local races. A separate primary for Congress and State Senate will happen in August, due to a chaotic redistricting process.

Patch reached out to all of Harlem's Assembly candidates to learn more about their stances on affordable housing, public safety, and other local issues. Here's what to know about each race.

70th District (Central Harlem)

In the 70th District, which also includes parts of East and West Harlem, five-year incumbent Inez Dickens is being challenged by two fellow Democrats: Delsenia Glover and Shawanna Vaughn.

Glover, a tenant advocate and former Deputy Public Advocate, said in her Patch profile that her top priorities included passing good cause eviction legislation, extending a housing voucher program and creating a new Mitchell-Lama program for middle-income New Yorkers.

Vaughn is a nonprofit director and activist who has spoken about having been born in prison and later swept up in the criminal justice system. In her questionnaire, she said she would focus on stopping gun violence through entrepreneurship programs and improved mental health services, as well as altering the area median income calculation used in affordable housing developments.

Both Glover and Vaughn criticized Dickens for her record on housing, with Glover noting the incumbent's strong opposition to the state's 2019 tenant protection laws.

Dickens's campaign did not respond to Patch's questions. Speaking to Patch in March, however, she defended her record in the legislature and explained her opposition to some tenant-protection bills, saying she felt they would punish small landlords.

"We were not abusive as owners. The people know who we are," Dickens said of her own family, which owns buildings around Harlem.

Read more about the 70th Assembly District candidates by clicking the links to each of their profiles: Delsenia Glover, Shawanna Vaughn, Inez Dickens (campaign website).

68th District (East Harlem)

In this district, which also includes a bit of Central Harlem and the Upper East Side, incumbent Eddie Gibbs took office in January after winning a special election to succeed Robert Rodriguez.

As he seeks a full term in office, Gibbs is being challenged by three fellow Democrats: Wilfredo Lopez, Tamika Mapp and John Ruiz Miranda.

Lopez, an attorney and former City Council staffer, said in his Patch profile that his top priorities include affordable housing and NYCHA, halting gentrification, and ending gun violence. His specific policy proposals include rethinking the city's AMI framework and repurposing commercial office space to use as housing.

Mapp, a businesswoman and state committee member, said in her questionnaire that she was focused on Harlem's "oversaturation of drug treatment centers," preserving housing for senior citizens, and removing illegal guns from the streets. Mapp also proposed revamping the AMI formula, and suggested increasing funding for mental health program.

Both Mapp and Lopez have focused on Gibbs's initial co-sponsorship of the NYCHA rescue trust — a recently-passed law that supporters say will unlock millions in repairs, but critics suggested did not give tenants enough say in the future of their buildings. (Gibbs eventually voted against the bill.)

Gibbs, meanwhile, has touted the more than 150 bills he has either introduced or cosponsored so far, including legislation that would aid college students with disabilities and protect biodiversity in New York State. He said he supported the state's mandatory inclusionary housing program, and called for a "balanced approach" to public safety.

John Ruiz Miranda could not be reached to share his policy positions.

Read more about the 68th Assembly District candidates by clicking the links to each of their profiles: Edward Gibbs, Wilfredo Lopez, Tamika Mapp.

71st District (West/North Harlem, Hamilton Heights)

This uptown district also includes a slice of Washington Heights and Inwood, and has been represented since 2017 by Al Taylor. Taylor is being challenged in the Democratic primary by Luis Tejada.

Neither Taylor nor Tejada filled out Patch's candidate questionnaire.

On his campaign website, Taylor says his priorities include reforming rent laws by strengthening tenant protections; tackling gun violence by banning bump stocks and limiting firearms on school property; and improving public schools by decreasing class sizes.

Tejada, an electrical engineer and teacher, has run for a number of local offices in past years, including City Council last year, coming in sixth place in District 7. He also previously challenged Taylor in 2018, winning 34 percent of the vote.

On his own website, Tejada describes himself as a "champion of tenant's rights," saying he wants to "stop landlord abuse" and "take back" the neighborhood from developers.

Early voting for this month's primary elections runs until June 26, with Election Day on June 28. Find your poll site or view a sample ballot here.

This story has been updated to reflect that Edward Gibbs voted against the NYCHA preservation trust bill.