NY State Assembly · District 68
Diana Ayala
Former New York City Council Member, District 8 (2018-2026); Chair, City Council General Welfare CommitteeDWFP
- Race
- NY State Assembly · District 68
- Result
- Diana Ayala, projected winner
- Opponents
- Unopposed
- Research
- In depth
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did7 statements · 0 votes
In Albany, she will fight to pass the New York for All Act, expand legal representation for immigrants, and ensure families can live and work without fear.
Expand immigration enforcement and deportations
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotNY State Assembly · 68
2026-11-03
| Diana Ayala DWFP | challenger |
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
In Albany, she will fight to pass the New York for All Act, expand legal representation for immigrants, and ensure families can live and work without fear.
Says she will fight to pass the New York for All Act, which would limit local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, and expand legal representation for immigrants.[8]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
In Albany, she will strengthen tenant protections, expand rental assistance statewide, and ensure new housing development includes deeply affordable homes for working families.
Supports strengthening tenant protections and expanding rental assistance statewide, citing her work expanding the CityFHEPS voucher program on the City Council.[8]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
In the Assembly, she will push to expand community-based mental health care, strengthen crisis response systems, and increase funding for addiction treatment and harm reduction programs.
Supports expanding community-based mental health care, crisis response systems, addiction treatment and harm reduction, and community health clinics, building on her chairmanship of the Council's Mental Health, Disabilities and Addictions Committee.[8]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
In Albany, Diana will work to strengthen protections for abortion access and reproductive healthcare.
Says she will work to strengthen state protections for abortion access and reproductive health care.[8]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
In Albany, Diana will fight to expand universal childcare and increase funding so families can access affordable, high-quality care.
Supports expanding universal childcare and increasing state childcare funding.[8]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
In Albany, she will defend prevailing wage laws, strengthen worker protections, support the right to organize, and expand job training programs that connect local residents to stable careers.
Says she will defend prevailing-wage laws and strengthen worker protections and the right to organize.[8]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
In Albany, Diana will support renewable energy investments, green infrastructure, and environmental justice policies.
Supports renewable-energy investment and green infrastructure as environmental-justice measures for East Harlem and the South Bronx.[8]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
Diana Ayala won the election for New York State Assembly District 68 on November 3, 2026, running unopposed, and is set to take office when the new term begins. She served on the New York City Council from 2018 to 2026, representing District 8 in East Harlem and parts of the South Bronx, including as Deputy Speaker. Before that she worked at a senior center and as a deputy chief of staff to Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. She won the June 2026 Democratic primary for Assembly District 68 over incumbent Eddie Gibbs.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
According to Wikipedia, Ayala was born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, in 1973 and moved to New York City with her family as a child, and her campaign website describes her as a lifelong New Yorker and the daughter of Puerto Rican parents.[9][4] She earned a degree in human services from Bronx Borough Community College and studied sociology at CUNY Herbert H. Lehman College; her campaign website describes her as a graduate of both institutions.[2][3] Before elected office, Ayala worked as a program director at the Carver Senior Center, a caseworker at Corsi Houses, and constituent-services director and then deputy chief of staff to Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito.[2]
In 2017 Ayala ran for the open District 8 Council seat when Mark-Viverito was term-limited, winning the Democratic primary over Robert Rodriguez, then an Assemblymember, and three other candidates, and the general election over Republican and Conservative candidates.[2][9] She represented the district from January 2018 until January 2026 and was re-elected in 2021 and 2023.[2] In the Council she chaired the General Welfare Committee and the Mental Health, Disabilities and Addictions Committee, according to her campaign website, and City & State reports she served as deputy speaker under Speaker Adrienne Adams for the last four years of her tenure after briefly running for speaker herself.[3][5] As General Welfare chair, she says she helped expand the CityFHEPS rental-assistance voucher program and worked to create and preserve affordable housing in the district, and that she helped secure major capital investments for Metropolitan Hospital in East Harlem.[3]
In February 2026 Ayala filed to run for Assembly District 68 against incumbent Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs, and on June 23, 2026 she won the Democratic primary with 51.9% of the vote to Gibbs' 31.2%; she also held the Working Families Party line.[5][6][1] According to Wikipedia, she lives in East Harlem and has four children and three grandchildren.[9] During the campaign, she emphasized affordability, housing, mental health care, immigrant protections and workers' rights.[1][2][3][4][5][6] She was unopposed in the November 3, 2026 general election, according to Wikipedia.[7]
On the record
Official actions: bills, executive acts, filings and court records.
- vote2023-07-13 · Voted for override (with the Council) of the Mayor's veto of Int. No. 878-A, the bill she sponsored prohibiting the Department of Social Services from requiring a CityFHEPS rental-assistance applicant to have stayed in a homeless shelter; the override passed 42-8 on July 13, 2023, enacting the bill as Local Law 100 of 2023.[10]
- vote2019-04-18 · Voted yes on Int. No. 1253-C, the Climate Mobilization Act (Local Law 97 of 2019), setting greenhouse-gas emissions limits for large buildings, which passed the City Council 45-2 on April 18, 2019.[11]
- vote2021-09-23 · Voted yes on Int. No. 2294-A, establishing minimum per-trip payments for third-party food-delivery and courier-service workers, which passed the City Council 40-3 (as part of a coupled vote with related bills) on September 23, 2021.[12]
- actionAs Chair of the City Council General Welfare Committee, helped expand the CityFHEPS rental-assistance voucher program so more families could receive help avoiding homelessness.[8]
- actionAs Chair of the City Council Mental Health, Disabilities and Addictions Committee, worked to expand mental-health services and improve coordination between health care providers, housing programs, and social services.[8]
- actionHelped secure major capital investment for Metropolitan Hospital in East Harlem to improve facilities and patient care.[8]
- action2026 · Represented City Council District 8 for two terms (January 2018-January 2026); did not seek re-election to the Council in 2025, running instead for State Assembly.[13]
In their own words
Priorities
- "Lower the cost of living for working families by holding utilities accountable, expanding childcare, and strengthening consumer protections."[8]
- "Protect affordable housing and stop displacement by expanding rental assistance, strengthening tenant protections, and building deeply affordable new homes."[8]
- "Expand mental health care and public health services so every New Yorker can access treatment and support in their community."[8]
- "Protect immigrant families and civil rights by passing the New York for All Act and expanding access to legal services."[8]
- "Stand up for workers and create good-paying jobs by strengthening worker protections, defending prevailing wage laws, and expanding workforce training."[8]
Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.
Profile: /people/diana-ayala
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.New York State Assembly District 68 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
- 2.Diana Ayala · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
- 3.Issues - Diana Ayala for Assembly · Diana Ayala for Assembly campaign · 2026 Candidate's own words
- 4.About Diana Ayala · Ayala for Assembly (campaign website) · 2026-10-21 Candidate's own words
- 5.Diana Ayala files to run against Eddie Gibbs for his Assembly seat · City & State New York · 2026-02 News report
- 6.Diana Ayala: The OTHER Uptown insurgent · City & State New York · 2026-06 News report
- 7.2026 New York State Assembly election · Wikipedia · 2026-11-09 Reference
- 8.Issues - Diana Ayala for Assembly · Diana Ayala for Assembly campaign · 2026 Candidate's own words
- 9.Diana Ayala · Wikipedia · 2026-10-21 Reference
- 10.Minutes of the Proceedings, Stated Meeting of July 13, 2023 (Int. No. 878-A veto-override roll call, p. 2092) · The New York City Council · 2023-07-13 Official record
- 11.Minutes of the Proceedings, Stated Meeting of April 18, 2019 (Int. No. 1253-C roll call, p. 1503) · The New York City Council · 2019-04-18 Official record
- 12.Minutes of the Proceedings, Stated Meeting of September 23, 2021 (Int. No. 2294-A roll call, p. 2425) · The New York City Council · 2021-09-23 Official record
- 13.Diana Ayala · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference