Aridia Espinal (born c. 1988) is an American politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Early Life

She was born in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, the daughter of immigrants from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. She is a cousin of former Assembly member and former New York City councilman Rafael Espinal.

Career

She entered politics as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, and was an aide to Assemblyman

Francisco Moya Francisco P. Moya (born January 9, 1974) is an American politician from Corona, Queens. He has served in the New York City Council from the 21st district since 2018. He served in the New York State Assembly from the 39th district from 2011 to 20 ...

. After Moya's election to the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

, Espinal was nominated to run in a special election to fill the vacancy. She was elected on April 24, 2018, and took her seat in the 202nd New York State Legislature. On September 11, 2018, Espinal lost the Democratic primary to

Catalina Cruz Catalina Cruz (born 1982/1983) is a Colombian-American attorney from the borough of Queens in New York City. A member of the Democratic Party and former undocumented immigrant minor (DREAMer), Cruz has worked as an advocate for immigration rig ...

. In the general election on November 6, 2018, Espinal ran on the

Working Families Party The Working Families Party (WFP) is a progressive minor political party in the United States, founded in New York in 1998. There are active chapters in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois ...

and the

Women's Equality Party The Women's Equality Party (WEP) was a feminist political party set up in the United Kingdom in 2015. The idea was conceived by Catherine Mayer and Sandi Toksvig at the Women of the World Festival, when they concluded that there was a need f ...

lines for re-election, but was again defeated by Cruz. Following her term in the Assembly, Espinal served as New York City Political Coordinator to the Mason Tenders' District Council PAC.

Personal life

Ari Espinal is the legal guardian of an elderly man named Clayton Cameing, who is almost twice her age, as of the year 2013. Clayton has a developmental disability. His mother worked in the building that houses

's former New York State Assembly office in Queens where Ari worked. Clayton and his mother lived in Brooklyn. She died in 2013 and Ari gained guardianship of Clayton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espinal, Ari 1980s births American politicians of Dominican Republic descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state) Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people Politicians from Queens, New York Women state legislators in New York (state) Working Families Party politicians Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature