After winning an April 2016 special election to fill the vacancy created by the felony conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Cancel was defeated in a Democratic primary by Yuh-Line Niou later that year.
Born in Puerto Rico, Cancel was raised in the South Bronx and on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
[1] She has long been active in Democratic politics, serving as a District Leader in her community for over twenty-five years.
[2] Cancel is married to John Quinn, who is a longtime labor leader in New York City.
She ran again in the 2016 primary election to retain her seat for a full, two-year term but was defeated by Niou.