Fernando Cabrera (politician)


Fernando Cabrera is an American politician in the Bronx, New York. A Democrat, he currently represents 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.

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.

Career

In 2009, Cabrera challenged Maria Baez to a primary election for the Democratic nomination for 14th District in the Bronx. But with the backing of The Bronx Democratic Committee 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. Cabrera followed that by winning the general election against Republican Yessenia A. Duran and Conservative Lisa Marie Campbell. 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.
Cabrera challenged Rivera again in 2016, but lost by a larger margin, 63% to 37%.
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.
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. 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.

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.