Carmen De La Rosa Elected As Council Rep For Wash Heights, Inwood

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — Assembly Member Carmen De La Rosa will defeat Republican Edwin De La Cruz by a significant amount to become Washington Heights and Inwood's next City Council representative, according to NY1 and The New York Times.

With 57.26 percent of local precincts reporting as of 9:55 p.m., De La Rosa leads with 86.5 percent of the vote to De La Cruz's 13.5 percent, according to NY1.

The total vote tally stands at:

• De La Rosa: 14,255
• De La Cruz: 2,233

"THANK YOU! GRACIAS! Humbly your Council Member-Elect for Washington Heights, Inwood & Marble Hill," De La Rosa tweeted Tuesday night.

THANK YOU! GRACIAS! Humbly your Council Member-Elect for Washington Heights, Inwood & Marble Hill! ————————————
Gracias! Humildemente su Concejal-electa! pic.twitter.com/cJZZ3Fx6Vr
— Carmen De La Rosa (@CarmenForNYC) November 3, 2021

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The two candidates ran to replace Ydanis Rodriguez, who is term-limited.

De La Rosa got her name on the ballot by beating out seven other candidates in the Democratic primary for the district in June.

De La Cruz was not challenged in the Republican primary and has worked as a tenant organizer, among other jobs.

De La Rosa spent the day visiting polling sites in Upper Manhattan.

For the first time in 20 years, all the winners of Tuesday's Council races will serve only a two-year term, opposed to the usual four years.

The shortened term is due to a rarely discussed provision in New York City's charter that changes the term length in the City Council every 20 years from four to two years to allow new challengers under new parties.

It means there will be another City Council election in 2023.

Read More: Wash Heights District 10 Council Race: De La Rosa Vs. De La Cruz