Rafael Espinal

Rafael Espinal
Member of the New York City Council from the 37th District
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2014
Preceded by	Erik Martin Dilan
Member of the New York Assembly from the 54th District
In office September 14, 2011 – December 31, 2013
Preceded by	Darryl C. Towns
Succeeded by	Erik Martin Dilan
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Queens College (B.A.)
Religion	Catholic
Website	Official website

Rafael Espinal is the Council member for the 37th District of the New York City Council. He is a Democrat. The district includes portions of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Bushwick, Crown Heights, Cypress Hills, and East New York in Brooklyn.^[1]

Life and career

Espinal has lived in Brooklyn all his life, while his parents are from the Dominican Republic. He's the third of six children. He was raised in Cypress Hills, attending and graduating from New York City public schools, P.S. 108, I.S. 302, and Franklin K. Lane High School. Espinal attended Queens College and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English.

He first entered public service as an aide to City Councilman Erik Martin Dilan, ultimately serving as his Chief of Staff.

New York State Assembly

In his first campaign, Espinal won the open 54th district seat in the New York State Assembly in a special election held on September 13, 2011. He left his Assembly post to run and win a seat on the Council, replacing Erik Martin Dilan^[1][2] The seat was left vacant after Darryl Towns resigned from the post in order to take a position with Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration.^[3]The assembly district represents parts of Bushwick, East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Cypress Hills, and Cityline in Brooklyn.^[4]

Espinal had the endorsement from the Brooklyn Democratic Party boss, Vito Lopez, and from the Republican Party and the Conservative Party of New York State.^[5] In a tight race, Espinal defeated Jesus Gonzalez running on the Working Families Party line and Deidra Towns running on her party platform, "Community First".^[6]

In 2012, Espinal was named one of City & State's "New York City Rising Stars: 40 Under 40" for his work as New York State Assemblyman.^[7]

New York City Council

In 2013, Espinal opted to leave the state Assembly to run for the New York City Council to succeed Erik Martin Dilan, and won the primary and general to take the seat in 2014.

Election history
Location	Year	Election	Results
NY Assembly District 54	2011	Special	√ Rafael Espinal (D) 46.21% Jesus Gonzalez (WFP) 34.61% Deidra Towns (Community) 19.13%
NY Assembly District 54	2012	Democratic Primary	√ Rafael Espinal 65.91% Juan C. Rodriguez 33.82%
NY Assembly District 54	2012	General	√ Rafael Espinal (D) 96.52 Khorshed Chowdhury (R) 3.42%
NYC Council District 37	2013	Democratic Primary	√ Rafael Espinal 45.85% Kimberly Council 31.87% Heriberto Mateo 12.01% Helal A. Sheikh 10.26%
NYC Council District 37	2013	General	√ Rafael Espinal (D) 86.05% Kimberly Council (WFP) 11.73% Michael Freeman-Saulsberre (Conservative) 2.19%

References

1. Bredderman, Will (August 20, 2014). "Erik Dilan Defends ‘Musical Chairs’ With Rafael Espinal". New York Observer. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
2. Robbins, Liz (2011-09-14). "Rafael Espinal and Other Democrats Win Assembly Seats". The New York Times.
3. Robbins, Liz (2011-09-02). "Brooklyn Special Election Could Upset Politics as Usual". New York Times. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
4. "New York State Assembly - Member Section". Assembly.state.ny.us. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
5. The Daily News endorses Jesus Gonzalez to represent Brooklyn's 54th District in the Assembly
6. Blue Utopia. "Deidra Towns for NYS Assembly". Townsforassembly.org. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
7. http://www.cityandstateny.com/rising-stars-40-under-40-5/

External links

• Espinal - New York City Council (official site)
• @RLEspinal (official twitter)