Diana Ayala
2018 - Present
2026
7
Diana Ayala (Democratic Party) is a member of the New York City Council, representing District 8. She assumed office on January 1, 2018. Her current term ends on January 1, 2026.
Ayala (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the New York City Council to represent District 8. She won in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Biography
Ayala earned a degree in human services from Bronx Borough Community College and studied sociology at CUNY-Herbert H. Lehman College.[1][2][3]
At the time of her 2017 run for city council, Ayala was the deputy chief of staff for District 8 Councilwoman and Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D). Her professional experience also includes work as Mark-Viverito's constituent services director, as a caseworker at Corsi Houses, and as a program director at Carver Senior Center.[1][3]
Elections
2023
See also: City elections in New York, New York (2023)
General election
General election for New York City Council District 8
Incumbent Diana Ayala defeated Exodus Gary in the general election for New York City Council District 8 on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Diana Ayala (D) | 87.4 | 4,118 |
| Exodus Gary (R) | 11.6 | 546 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.1 | 50 | ||
| Total votes: 4,714 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jamell Lighty (Freedom Party)
- Wesley Rose (Medical Freedom Party)
Democratic primary election
Democratic Primary for New York City Council District 8
The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Diana Ayala in round 1 .
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican Primary for New York City Council District 8
The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Exodus Gary in round 1 .
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Ayala in this election.
2021
See also: City elections in New York, New York (2021)
General election
General election for New York City Council District 8
Incumbent Diana Ayala won election in the general election for New York City Council District 8 on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Diana Ayala (D) | 98.7 | 7,366 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.3 | 98 | ||
| Total votes: 7,464 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic Primary for New York City Council District 8
The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Diana Ayala in round 1 .
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Total votes: 11,722 |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
2017
New York City held elections for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, and all 51 seats on the city council in 2017. New Yorkers also voted for offices in their boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.
Primary elections were scheduled for September 12, 2017, and the general election was on November 7, 2017. Under New York law, candidates who run unopposed in a primary or general election win the nomination or election automatically, and their names do not appear on the ballot.[4] Diana Ayala (D) defeated Daby Carreras (R) and Linda Ortiz (Conservative) in the general election for the District 8 seat on the New York City Council.
| New York City Council, District 8 General Election, 2017 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Diana Ayala |
90.90% | 14,341 | |
| Republican | Daby Carreras | 5.36% | 846 | |
| Conservative | Linda Ortiz | 3.37% | 531 | |
| Write-in votes | 0.37% | 59 | ||
| Total Votes | 15,777 | |||
| Source: New York City Board of Elections, "General Election - November 7, 2017," accessed January 2, 2018 | ||||
Diana Ayala defeated Robert Rodriguez, Tamika Mapp, and Israel Martinez in the Democratic primary for the District 8 seat on the New York City Council.[5]
| New York City Council, District 8 Democratic Primary Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Diana Ayala |
43.50% | 4,012 |
| Robert Rodriguez | 42.23% | 3,895 |
| Tamika Mapp | 9.78% | 902 |
| Israel Martinez | 4.26% | 393 |
| Write-in votes | 0.23% | 21 |
| Total Votes | 9,223 | |
| Source: New York City Board of Elections, "2017 Primary: Certified Results," accessed September 28, 2017 | ||
Endorsements
Ayala received endorsements from the following in 2017:[6]
- 32BJ SEIU
- Communications Workers of America, District 1
- DC37
- Empire State Humane Voters[7]
- Hotel and Motel Trades Council
- International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 16
- Make the Road Action
- National Association of Social Workers[8]
- National Organization for Women NYC[9]
- New York City Council Progressive Caucus Alliance
- New York State Nurses Association[10]
- Professional Staff Congress CUNY
- Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
- Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC
- TenantsPAC[11]
- United Automobile Workers Region 9A
- Working Families Party
- U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat
- Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
- New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito
- New York City Councilwoman Annabel Palma
- New York City Councilman Rafael Salamanca
- New York City Councilman Ritchie Torres
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Diana Ayala did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Diana Ayala did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
2017
Ayala participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates.[12] The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Securing affordable housing in good condition for residents in my district. This is the most pressing issue that our residents in East Harlem and the South Bronx are facing.[13] | ” |
| —Diana Ayala (August 31, 2017)[3] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important: city services (trash, utilities, etc.), civil rights, crime reduction/prevention, environment, government transparency, homelessness, housing, K-12 education, public pensions/retirement funds, recreational opportunities, transportation, and unemployment. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important.
| Issue importance ranking | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking |
Issue | Candidate's ranking |
Issue |
| Housing | Government transparency | ||
| Homelessness | Public pensions/retirement funds | ||
| Unemployment | Environment | ||
| Crime reduction/prevention | City services (trash, utilities, etc.) | ||
| Civil rights | Transportation | ||
| K-12 education | Recreational opportunities | ||
Nationwide municipal issues
The candidate was asked to answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions.
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| Very important | |
| Federal | |
| Focusing on small business development. Also an increase in minimum wage. The cost of living in this city does not align with the wages many of our residents are making. | |
| Among many things, I am most proud of our commitment to protecting our status as a Sanctuary City, defying the bigotry and intolerance of our current administration. | |
| Economic inequity. Low-income residents in my district and others throughout NYC are struggling in one of the richest cities in the world. Many are living in public housing units that are in unacceptable condition, and that is if they even have housing at all. Far too many people struggle to pay bills and purchase necessities for their families. As a city, we can do more to ensure that all of our residents have everything they need to achieve a good quality of life, regardless of the neighborhoods they live in. | |
| The city has made much-needed changes to law enforcement practices, but there is room for improvement. We must work to improve police transparency and accountability. The proposed Right to Know is a great step towards improving relations between law enforcement and the communities they serve. | |
| Absolutely. I wholeheartedly support the city's current status as a sanctuary city and would never do anything to jeopardize the protection of the immigrants who live here. | |
| Our transportation system needs to be revitalized, especially the subways. I support the Mayor's proposed millionaire's tax to provide additional funding to our subway system. Far too many New Yorkers rely on the subway for it to be consistently in disrepair. | |
| I approve of affordable housing mandates for new buildings, especially in low-income communities. Existing affordable housing units, especially NYCHA developments, need to retained and repaired when necessary. Specific to District 8, the Mayor must listen to the needs expressed by people in this community before implementing housing plans here. His current plan is being rejected by East Harlem residents because their suggestions were not included. |
Ayala provided the following additional comments with the survey:
| “ |
I am running for City Council because the concerns of this community have also been mine. I have been displaced, homeless, hungry, a victim of domestic violence, and I have lost the father of my children to gun violence. I understand the plight of our community and together we can bring that knowledge to City Hall. It does not take a career politician to be a good representative. It takes genuine concern and thorough understanding of a community's issues. I have both.[13] |
” |
| —Diana Ayala (2017)[3] | ||
Additional themes
In the New York City Campaign Finance Board's voter guide, Ayala listed her top three issues as:
| “ |
|
” |
| —Diana Ayala[14] | ||
See also
2023 Elections
External links
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Officeholder New York City Council District 8 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Diana Ayala 2017, "About Diana Ayala," accessed August 25, 2017
- ↑ Gotham Gazette, "Mark-Viverito Identifies Successor for Council Seat," July 7, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey, 2017, "Diana Ayala's Responses," August 31, 2017
- ↑ New York Election Law, "Sec 6-160. Primaries," accessed July 14, 2017
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email correspondence with the New York City Board of Elections," July 14, 2017
- ↑ Diana Ayala 2017, "Endorsements," accessed August 25, 2017
- ↑ Twitter, "Empire State Humane Voters on August 22, 2017," accessed August 25, 2017
- ↑ Twitter, "Diana Ayala on August 24, 2017," accessed August 25, 2017
- ↑ Twitter, "Diana Ayala on August 21, 2017," accessed August 25, 2017
- ↑ Twitter, "Diana Ayala on August 23, 2017," accessed August 25, 2017
- ↑ Twitter, "Diana Ayala on August 23, 2017," accessed August 25, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ New York City Campaign Finance Board, "Diana Ayala," accessed August 30, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Melissa Mark-Viverito (D) |
New York City Council District 8 2018-Present |
Succeeded by Elsie Encarnacion (D) |
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