Washington Heights Election Guide: What To Know About The Races

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — We're still months away from November, but it's already election season in Washington Heights and Inwood — and in the overwhelmingly Democratic voting New York City, the summer's primary season tends to be the real decider.

A slew of local races are on the ballot in Tuesday's primary election — from statewide contests for governor and lieutenant governor all the way down to neighborhood-level offices like State Assembly, state committee and more. (A second primary will be held in August for Congress and State Senate.)

Patch will bring you live coverage on Tuesday once the results start rolling in. (If you haven't voted yet, find your poll site or view a sample ballot here.)

In the meantime, here's everything you need to know about Washington Heights and Inwood Democratic primaries, which include a brand new incumbent trying to keep his seat after a special election in February and a more seasoned incumbent fending off a single challenger.

Assembly District 72 (A large chunk of Washington Heights and the entirety of Inwood)

Incumbent Manny De Los Santos will do his best to hold onto the seat that he recently took over from now Council Member Carmen De La Rosa.

Santos was elected in a special election in February, in which he won with 61 percent of the vote.

In Tuesday's primary, he will be going up against Nayma Silver-Matos, who came in second in February's special election, and Silvia Smith — who is running for the position for the first time.

De Los Santos was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in Washington Heights. He got a master's degree in social work from the University of Albany and served as a district leader for the 72nd Assembly District-Part B.

He has also worked as a board member for the Department of Youth and Community Development in Upper Manhattan and as a member of Community Board 12.

De Los Santos has received widespread backing from other Upper Manhattan elected officials.

Silver-Matos is a lifelong Upper Manhattan resident. She serves as chairwoman of the Neighborhood Advisory Board 12, as a member of the Parks & Cultural Affairs Committee for Community Board 12, and is also on the Board of Directors for Dare To Run, Inc.

Her parents emigrated to Manhattan from the Dominican Republic.

As Patch reported last week, Matos discovered one of her campaign signs broken to pieces in Upper Manhattan.

Matos, who currently serves as the Democratic New York State Committee Woman for Assembly District 72, told Patch that the empty bottle of liquor placed next to the broken easel was a symbolic choice.

"Someone was sending a message," she added.

The third candidate, Smith, has not run for office before but has held important positions within Upper Manhattan for years.

She is the president of the Washington Heights Multi-Cultural Center, the president of Centro Civico Cultural Dominicano, which promotes Dominican culture and heritage, and is the president of the Manhattan Latin Chamber of Commerce.

71st District (West/North Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwoo)

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.

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.