With the 1 train roaring overhead, Ydanis Rodriguez was supposedly campaigning outside the Dyckman Street subway station, standing between two parked trucks with mounted speakers blasting ads from other candidates. But his back was turned to the entrance as he chatted with the man behind a flavored-ice cart. Rodriguez reached out with a few fliers, but mostly, it was the voters who kept coming up to him, eager to shake his hand, wish him good luck, meet him in person.   

This is a man who is well known here as a champion of the neighborhood and of radical, pro-Dominican politics. In a sudden turnaround, he inherited the political support of the city in late July, when Miguel Martinez resigned in scandal and Rodriguez found himself at the front of the District 10 race.

Rodriguez, a community organizer for decades, is someone who holds his beliefs close and has led social projects in Washington Heights for years. A former teacher, he has a special interest in children and teenagers. He helped coordinate the country’s first large conference of Dominican Americans, to discuss “the Dominican agenda,” in 2000.

“I don’t see myself as a candidate. I see myself as someone who belongs to a group of community organizations,” he said. “I know of the potential that my community has.”

Throughout his campaign, he has said that he wants to open up the political process and bring the community to City Hall, telling local groups that if they want his support they must be prepared to show up en masse to public hearings.

He is serious about this—as his youngest brother and campaign aide Carlos confides, Rodriguez is terrible at telling jokes. The oldest son in a family of 12 children, the family is afraid to disappoint him—if a young niece or nephew gets into trouble, Carlos said, the first thing people ask is “Does Ydanis know?” 

An organizer of public rallies, Rodriguez’ favorite author is Gabriel Garcia Márquez and one of his favorite movies is the artsy, racy Mexican film Y Tu Mamá También.

After coming to New York from the Dominican Republic when he was 18, Rodriguez eventually enrolled at City College and became involved in student politics. All along he has been involved in community work, intertwining his family, friends, and jobs with a series of local projects. He founded a high school in Washington Heights designed for immigrant families, with some former students later joining his political campaigns. The father of a 2-year-old girl, one of his current goals for the neighborhood is to set up early childhood programs.

Rodriguez first ran in 2001, and had developed a reputation in some corners of Upper Manhattan as little more than a pest and perennial candidate in his races since. But he kept going, even when the race looked like it would be again against Martinez, and he would again be the underdog.

Then came Martinez's resignation, suddenly changing everything about the race. While in the aftermath, Rodriguez got far with the backing of politicians and unions over the summer, especially after the candidacy of Guillermo Linares fell apart, there are clearly challenges ahead.

“I hate to say this, but the Spanish, they lost my trust,” said Luz Tejeda, a 45-year-old nurse, as she fanned several campaign brochures in her hands outside the Dyckman Street subway stop. “A lot of the people that trusted Martinez trust him. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

Rodriguez says that he has ties to every group in the community and that he is planning a system of participation and transparency “never been done” in Washington Heights.

After eight years of being the outsider, Rodriguez might have a tougher time adjusting to some of what will come in his new elected life. Start with the dress code: according to his brother, the new Council member says the same thing whenever he has to put on a suit: “Where’s my uniform?”