political profi les district 14
BY YUDELKA TAPIA
Why are you running?
Our community in the
West Bronx is facing a disproportionate
share of the pain
from this pandemic, and we
need proven leaders making
sure we get the relief we need.
I’ve spent decades fi ghting for
the Bronx, and I’m running to
provide a just recovery that
helps our community and uplifts
the workers and immigrants
that are essential to
our city. I’m ready to fi ght for
good-paying, union jobs, fullyfunded
public schools, support
for our seniors and small businesses,
and meaningful criminal
justice reform. I’ve spent
the last 30 years organizing
my neighbors and fi ghting
for progress, and I’m ready to
bring my experience and my
passion for fairness and justice
to City Hall and make our
community better for working
families like mine.
Tell us about yourself,
what you do for a living, your
relationship to the district,
and which neighborhood you
live in
I immigrated here from
the Dominican Republic more
than 30 years ago, and I’ve dedicated
my life to making my
community in the West Bronx
a place where my sons and
my neighbors can thrive. I’m
a working mother who raised
my four sons in this community,
a union leader who will
continue to stand up for working
people, a PTA president
who has spent decades fi ghting
to improve our education
system, and a District Leader
who has delivered wins for
criminal justice reform. I currently
live in Morris Heights,
and I’ve served as Senior Auditor
for the New York City
Comptroller’s Offi ce for 23
years.
What are the biggest challenges
facing the district and
how will you solve them?
First and foremost, I will
fi ght to enact an equitable
COVID-19 recovery plan that
supports our locally-owned
small businesses and puts the
needs of working families, immigrants,
and people of color
fi rst. Our community has
been disproportionately impacted
by this pandemic, and
we need real relief that prioritizes
the needs of frontline
workers and the most vulnerable.
Access to a good education,
affordable housing, healthcare,
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M 60 ARCH 26-APR. 1, 2021 BTR
safety, and job opportunities
should not be up to
chance or zip code. I’m committed
to fi ghting to defend
and expand our City’s affordable
housing stock by building
permanent affordable housing
for low-income families,
changing the AMI so Bronx
residents can have a fair shot
at fair housing, funding NYCHA,
and taking on greedy
landlords.
What will you do differently
than the incumbent?
As a Latina, a mother, and
a grandmother, I will bring
a unique perspective to my
work in the City Council. And
as someone who is running to
be an independent community
advocate, I will always seek to
take on tough fi ghts no matter
the odds.
What’s your political experience?
I’ve spent the last three decades
fi ghting in every fi ght
for our community in the
West Bronx as Democratic
District Leader for the 86th
Assembly District, PTA President
at Roosevelt High School,
and a member of the Executive
Committee of our local
DC 37 Union.
What endorsements do you
have?
I am so proud to have been
endorsed by our Bronx Borough
President Ruben Diaz
Jr., along with Assemblymember
Victor Pichardo, the Great
Alliance Democratic Club (400
members), The Louela Hatch
Democratic Club, and Local
1407-DC37.
Courtesy of Yudelka Tapia
BY SOCRATES SOLANO
Why are you running?
We, the residents that make
up the 14th Council District,
are a community with an array
of diversity that celebrates
our immigrant backgrounds.
We have a really strong business
community and we have
a workforce like no other. We
have unbelievably beautiful
parks and playgrounds for
our children. It’s just a really
special place to live, work and
raise a family. Fighting the war
on COVID-19 has taken a serious
hit on our City Budget and
local economy. As we move towards
vaccinations, we are going
to have to do things differently
to get us back on our feet.
Tell us about yourself, what
you do for a living, your relationship
to the district, and
which neighborhood you live
in
I currently reside in the
Morris Heights section of the
district on W. Burnside Avenue.
For the past year now, I’ve
been working on the front lines
of our COVID Response for NYCHHC
through an agency. As
an Operational Lead, I manage
COVID19 testing sites throughout
the Bronx. I manage a staff
of clerks, RN’s, and NP’s who
are truly the hero’s of this
fi ght. Regrettably, I’ve caught
COVID-19, twice! But thank
God I have survived it.
For a decade, I worked in
Congress for Congressman
Charles Rangel. The job was immensely
rewarding as I helped
constituents with an array of
issues including immigration,
housing (NYCHA), and cutting
through the red tape.
What are the biggest challenges
facing the district and
how will you solve them?
Tomorrow’s economy is going
to be a startup economy and
an innovation economy and the
workers are going to have to
be smarter, require more education,
with better skills than
ever before. Parents have a
tremendous amount of anxiety
over their children. Where
are they going to work, how
are they going to support their
families, how are they going to
send kids off to college? That’s
why our district needs the
kind of leadership to develop a
strong workforce, improve our
schools, and make our district
as competitive as it can be.
What will you do differently
than the incumbent?
Living in the district, I’ve
witnessed the heart-wrenching
violence that has also
wreaked havoc on our streets.
We have to put an end to it. We
have to change. We have to do
something different. We have
to get to the root causes of it.
And the root causes of it goes
back to poverty and the lack
of opportunity and failure in
our schools. Every child in
our district deserves a world
class education. Doing business
as we’ve always done it
is not good enough. One of
the most diffi cult challenges
next year is balancing the
city budget. It’s time to take a
hard look at city spending.
What’s your political experience?
I’m running for the City
Council because the district
that I love needs a councilman
with the experience, vision,
and the courage to address
the really serious challenges
that we face. My other political
experience stems from
working for City Council
Speakers Peter Vallone and
Gifford Miller, and also then
Senator Hillary Clinton who
gave me my political start.
What endorsements do you
have?
Regrettably, due to my
work with the pandemic response,
I was unable to outreach
and garner any endorsements.
I’m hoping that
the voters of the district see
my story and give me their
endorsement with their vote
on June 22nd.
Yudelka Tapia
Socrates Solano