Four candidates are running to succeed Rafael Salamanca in District 17 in the South Bronx. 

Antirson Ortiz, director of constituent services for Comptroller Brad Lander, has staked out the left lane in the race, receiving the top ranking endorsement from the Working Families Party, which also recommended ranking Sanchez and Santana, and from the progressive Jim Owles Democratic Club. However, he has raised the least of the four, giving him a difficult path to challenge better-funded and more broadly supported competitors. 

Salamanca is supporting small business owner Freddy Perez. Perez is a district leader, a hyper-local elected office that serves as the Democratic “boss” of part of an Assembly district. He is also a member of his neighborhood Community Board, the local body made up of volunteer appointees tasked with representing the neighborhood in city decision-making. Perez is the sole Gen X candidate in the race at age 59. He is the one candidate who did not receive the blessing of the WFP. His policy plans are thin on detail, and it does not appear that he would usher in the significant change that the borough and council need.

Community activist Elvis Santana is backed by former assemblymember Michael Blake, currently running for mayor, and a local Bronx Democratic Club that he helped found. Additionally engaged in the community as a former State Committeeman, Santana was the fourth-place finisher in a 2020 Assembly primary and in the 2017 general election for this council district when he ran on his own ballot line.

Justin Sanchez, chief of staff for State Senator Nathalia Fernandez, is at the front of the pack in fundraising and endorsements; he is also the best positioned to deliver the innovative leadership needed in the council. Sanchez has built a broad base of support including moderate Congressman Ritchie Torres and State Senator Jabari Brisport of the far-left Democratic Socialists of America, and many others in between, demonstrating impressive coalition-building skill. A former president of the Stonewall Democrats (the city’s premier LGBTQ+ Democratic Club), Sanchez connects his queer identity to the necessity of New York City to be a true haven to the marginalized. Amongst a broad platform, his focus on clean streets reflects an appreciation for the role city government can play in addressing basic quality of life issues if properly focused.