Gabriela Rosa Credits Espaillat, Herself For Victory

Gabriela Rosa

State Sen. Adriano Espaillat didn’t just win on primary day last week when he trounced Assemblyman Guillermo Linares by more than 20 points. His strong backing of two Assembly candidates also played out to his advantage, with Mark Gjonaj ousting Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera and the little-known Gabriela Rosa beating out Linares’ daughter, Mayra Linares, for the Assembly seat the elder Linares is vacating. Ibrahim Khan, a spokesman for Espaillat, called the results of all three races “very gratifying.” “With Senator Espaillat winning a sweeping re-election and new partners in government like Gabriella Rosa and Mark Gjonaj winning seats in the Assembly, there is a clear mandate for strong, progressive representation in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx,” he said. Rosa attributed her surprise win over Mayra Linares, a candidate with more money and greater name recognition, to a combination of a strong grassroots campaign, an ambitious door-to-door effort in which she shed 23 pounds, and support from Espaillat and City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez. “Sen. Espaillat definitely played a crucial role in all this, due to the name recognition he had, and that we basically were working together,” Rosa said. “But you know, I have to take credit for myself also. It wasn’t easy.”