Fernando Cabrera (politician)

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]

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]

• NYC Council District 14