Fernando Cabrera (politician)

Fernando Cabrera (born April 18, 1964) is an American politician in the Bronx, New York. A Democrat, he formerly represented the 14th district in the New York City Council, including the neighborhoods of Claremont Village, Fordham, Kingsbridge, Marble Hill, Morris Heights, Mount Eden, Mount Hope, and University Heights.

Fernando Cabrera
Senior Advisor at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships
In office February 16, 2022 – June 15, 2023
Director	Gilford Monrose
Preceded by	position established
Succeeded by	TBD
Majority Whip of the New York City Council
In office January 11, 2018 – December 31, 2021
Speaker	Corey Johnson
Succeeded by	Selvena Brooks-Powers
Member of the New York City Council from the 14th district
In office January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2021
Preceded by	Maria Baez
Succeeded by	Pierina Sanchez
Personal details
Born	(1964-04-18) April 18, 1964 (age 60) New York City, US
Political party	Democratic formerly Republican
Spouse	Elvia Cabrera
Children	2
Alma mater	Southern California College (BA) Liberty University (MA) Argosy University (EdD)
Website	Official website

Cabrera is a socially conservative Democrat. He is an opponent of abortion and opposes same-sex marriage.^[1]

Early life and education

Cabrera was born in the Bronx to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother. He received a B.A. in Religion from Southern California College, a M.A. in Counseling from Liberty University, and a Doctorate in Education from Argosy University.^[2]

Career

In 2009, Cabrera challenged Maria Baez to a primary election for the Democratic nomination for 14th district in the Bronx. With the backing of The Bronx Democratic Committee^[3] and the endorsement of key unions, Cabrera was able to defeat the incumbent by just over 1% difference in three-way race that included Yudelka Tapia.^[4] Cabrera followed that by winning the general election against Republican Yessenia A. Duran and Conservative Lisa Marie Campbell.^[5] He won reelection in 2013.

In 2014, Cabrera challenged Senator Gustavo Rivera in the Democratic primary, but lost 59% to 41%. During his primary bid against Rivera, Cabrera attracted ire for his opposition to abortion & gay marriage, as well as his apparent praise of an anti-gay Ugandan law.^[6] In a video posted on Youtube and later deleted, Cabrera, speaking from Uganda, said, "Gay marriage is not accepted in this country. Why? Because the Christians have assumed the place of decision-making for the nation."^[7]

Cabrera challenged Rivera again in 2016,^[8] but lost by a larger margin, 63% to 37%.^[9]

On September 12, 2017, Cabrera won 55% of the vote in the New York Democratic Primary election, to 35% for challenger Randy Abreu and 10% for Felix Perdomo.

On January 11, 2018, Cabrera was elected Majority Whip and Chairman of the Committee on Governmental Operations.^[10]

In 2019, Cabrera announced that he was going to challenge Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic primary for New York's 14th congressional district, while criticizing her embracing of democratic socialism.^[11] On March 1, 2020, Cabrera announced that he was ending his primary bid against Ocasio-Cortez and that he would instead be running for the position of Bronx Borough President in 2021.^[12]

Cabrera lost this borough president race to Vanessa Gibson, the then-chair of the council's Committee on Public Safety. She is the first woman to hold the position of Bronx borough president.^[13]

In February 2022, after New York City mayor Eric Adams named Cabrera a senior advisor in the city's Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships, LGBT groups objected to the appointment, citing Cabrera's history of opposing same-sex marriage.^[7]

Election history
Location	Year	Election	Results
NYC Council District 14	2009	Democratic primary	√ Fernando Cabrera 38.53% Maria Baez 37.16% Yudelka Tapia 24.31%
NYC Council District 14	2009	General	√ Fernando Cabrera (D) 87.58% Yessenia A. Duran (R) 10.59% Lisa Marie Campbell (Conservative) 1.83%
NYC Council District 14	2013	Democratic primary	√ Fernando Cabrera 74.83% Israel Martinez 25.18%
NYC Council District 14	2013	General	√ Fernando Cabrera (D) 95.36% Stanley Butler (R) 3.50% Alan H. Reed (Conservative) 1.05%
NY Senate District 33	2014	Democratic primary	√ Gustavo Rivera 59.31% Fernando Cabrera 40.70%
NY Senate District 33	2016	Democratic primary	√ Gustavo Rivera 62.97% Fernando Cabrera 37.93%
NYC Council District 14	2017	Democratic primary	√ Fernando Cabrera 55.06% Randy Abreu 34.69% Felix Perdomo 10.03%
NYC Council District 14	2017	General	√ Fernando Cabrera (D) 83.67% Randy Abreu (Working Families) 10.41% Alan Reed (R) 4.36% Justin Sanchez (Liberal) 1.51%

Personal life

Cabrera is the senior pastor of New Life Outreach International in the Kingsbridge area of the Bronx. He is a former program director for the Mental Health and Counseling program at Mercy College.^[2]

References

1. a_henning (2019-10-10). "City Councilman Fernando Cabrera is challenging AOC". CSNY. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
2. "District 14 - Fernando Cabrera". Council.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
3. "Kappstatter: Dem party pick Cabrera no wascally Pedro". New York Daily News. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
4. Primary Election 2009 Democratic Member of the City Council 14th Council District Archived 2012-06-02 at the Wayback Machine, September 15, 2009
5. "Our Campaigns - New York City Council 14 Race - Nov 03, 2009". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
6. "Fernando Cabrera Blames 'Liberal Media' for Senate Loss". Observer. 2014-09-10. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
7. Rubinstein, Dana (2022-02-22). "Adams Is Challenged Over His Hiring of 3 Gay Marriage Foes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
8. "Rivera Wins Contentious Primary for Bronx Senate Seat". Retrieved 7 September 2017.
9. "J. Gustavo Rivera - Ballotpedia". Retrieved 7 September 2017.
10. Neuman, William; Goodman, J. David (2018-02-02). "In City Council, Power Shifts Away From Progressives (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
11. a_henning (2019-10-10). "City Councilman Fernando Cabrera is challenging AOC". CSNY. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
12. Campanile, Carl (2020-03-02). "Bronx councilman drops bid against AOC to instead run for borough president". New York Post. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
13. Balk, Tim (2022-03-11). "Vanessa Gibson is elected first female Bronx borough president". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2022-02-03.

External links

• NYC Council District 14

Political offices
Preceded by Maria Baez	Member of the New York City Council from the 14th district 2010–21	Succeeded by Pierina Ana Sanchez