Ari Espinal

Aridia Espinal (born 1988) is an American politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly from April to December 2018. A Democrat, she replaced Francisco Moya, who she was an aide to, in a special election after he was elected to the New York City Council. Espinal received a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Francis College.

Career Espinal worked as an aide to Assemblyman Francisco Moya. After Moya's election to the New York City Council, 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. In the general election on November 6, 2018, Espinal ran on the Working Families Party and the Women's Equality Party 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. City & State named her #94 on its 2026 Queens Power 100 list for her work championing the Construction Justice Act, which requires developers to pay workers a minimum package of $40 per hour.

Personal life Espinal became the legal guardian of an elderly man with developmental disabilities who is almost twice her age in 2013. Espinal had met him in 2011 when his mother worked at the front desk of the building of Moya's former office; his mother died of cancer in 2013, leaving him with no relatives until Espinal legally adopted him.