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 | April 16,1964 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 |
Fernando Cabrera (born April 16,1964) 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.
Cabrera is a socially conservative Democrat. He is an opponent of abortion and opposes same-sex marriage. [1]
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]
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% |
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]