A Washington Heights Assembly primary that was supposed to be a low-profile local race has instead turned into a full-blown political brawl, after one challenger allegedly hired private investigators to track her opponent and circulated flyers that included a photo of his child.
According to Politico, Francesca Castellanos spent about $8,000 on private investigators and mailed roughly 4,000 Spanish-language flyers, with plans to print up to 10,000. The complaint says those flyers included a photo of Assemblymember Manny De Los Santos’s child.
The complaint, which Castellanos filed with Attorney General Letitia James, attaches video recorded on April 12 and an investigator’s affidavit stating the investigator "never spotted" De Los Santos enter or exit a unit. The filings also note that De Los Santos's Manhattan apartment was placed under receivership in 2024 and list an annual salary of $142,000. What might have been a routine local contest is now a legal and political headache for everyone involved.
Allegations and responses
De Los Santos pushed back hard, telling Politico, "My opponent has spent thousands of dollars on private investigators to follow me and even my children." For a sitting Assembly member, having your kids pulled into a campaign fight is about as personal as it gets.
Castellanos, for her part, framed the situation very differently. She told the outlet that "he's a public figure, and he's lying," casting the materials as part of her pushback over residency claims. In her telling, the investigators and flyers are about verifying where De Los Santos actually lives, not about targeting his family.
Race background
De Los Santos represents Assembly District 72, which covers Washington Heights and nearby neighborhoods. His official biography notes a background in social work and community organizing, laying out a trajectory from neighborhood advocacy to Albany. More details are available on his profile with the New York State Assembly.
Castellanos has worked as a tenant-rights activist and previously ran in the 2021 City Council race in the same area, a campaign that helped introduce her to many of the same voters now watching this Assembly fight. Her earlier run is outlined in her 2021 candidate profile on Patch.
What happens next
For now, Castellanos’s complaint sits with the Office of the New York State Attorney General. The AG provides online complaint forms and says matters are routed to the appropriate bureau for review, a process that can be slow and mostly behind the scenes. The office has not publicly said whether it will open a formal investigation into the campaign materials.
Voters and campaigns looking for details on how complaints are handled can check the Office of the New York State Attorney General website, which outlines the intake process and provides contact information for follow-up. In the meantime, the political drama in Washington Heights is likely to keep simmering right up to Primary Day.
