Bronx Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. has announced he will be running against incumbent Vanessa Gibson for Bronx borough president in 2025, a move that has been anticipated since the beginning of the year.
Salamanca, a Longwood local who has represented the South Bronx in the City Council since 2016, announced his campaign on Sept. 17. After eight years, the District 17 council member is term-limited at the end of next year. He launched a first bid for the borough presidency in 2021 but dropped out to focus on his City Council reelection. This will be his first full campaign for Bronx BP.
“It’s obvious we need some type of change. We need help,” Salamanca told the Bronx Times.
If elected to the borough presidency, he said he would immediately declare a state of emergency when it comes to housing. He said the city needs to stop “overspending” on homeless shelters in the Bronx and refocus on creating affordable housing for families, young working adults and seniors.
“I think this administration has lost sight of that,” Salamanca said.
The Bronx Times has reached out to Gibson and is awaiting comment.
Salamanca has spent his whole life and political career in the South Bronx. After serving as president of the 41st Precinct Council and nearly six years as district manager of Bronx Community Board 2, Salamanca won the District 17 council seat in a 2016 special election following the resignation of Maria del Carmen Arroyo in 2015. He went on to secure his first full term in 2017 before winning reelection again in 2021 and again in 2023.
“I was born and raised here and I’m now raising my own family here, so I’m excited about the opportunity to continue to give back to the borough that has given me so much,” said Salamanca in a statement. “At the same time, as a lifelong Bronxite I see how our communities continue to struggle” with challenges such as the high cost of housing, crime and under-resourced schools, he said.
Salamanca’s campaign for borough president has been anticipated for months. He teased a BP run earlier this winter, when he joined the city Campaign Finance Program as a participant for the 2025 citywide elections in the race for Bronx borough president. Back in February before the finance program enrollment deadline, Salamanca told the Bronx Times he hadn’t officially decided but wanted to keep his options open “before I commit to anything.” He told the Bronx Times again at a school laundry room opening in May that he hadn’t yet made up his mind and planned to wait until after the June primary elections.
In the next Democratic Party primary on June 24, 2025, Salamanca will face Gibson, who has served as borough president since November 2021. Gibson, who was previously a member of the state Assembly and City Council, made history when she was elected the first woman and first Black borough president in the Bronx. Gibson’s team confirmed with the Bronx Times back in February that she plans to run for re-election next year.
She will likely face a strong challenge from Salamanca, who is well-known in the borough and chairs the powerful City Council Committee on Land Use. During his years in the council, Salamanca has approved over 8,000 affordable housing units for his district — the most in the city. He said his land use expertise will help him take on NIMBYism (the attitude of “not in my backyard”), which he said is common in parts of the Bronx, and develop plans for equitable housing distribution throughout the borough and city.
“I’m willing to take that task,” said Salamanca.
In the most recent budget, he secured $21.5 million in allocations for improvements to local parks and schools, more new affordable housing, a new community health clinic and technology upgrades for Bronx community boards.
Salamanca did not directly mention Gibson in the campaign announcement but said her administration “lacks a comprehensive plan” to address important concerns in the borough and foster a new generation of leaders.
If elected, Salamanca will have less actual legislative power, as borough president positions are advisory — but he will no doubt have sway from his years in city leadership on hot-button issues affecting the borough.
The current salary of the borough president $178,709 and Salamanca’s salary as council member is $148,093, according to the accountability website SeeThrough NY.
This story was updated at 2:00 p.m. to add comment from CM Salamanca.
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