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Who Is Running For Bronx Borough President?
By
David Cruz
Published Jan 26, 2021
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By
David Cruz
Published Jan 26, 2021
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UPDATE, OCTOBER 2021: Here is who will be on your general election ballot for Bronx Borough President:
Democratic – Vanessa L. Gibson
Republican – Janelle King
Conservative – Sammy Ravelo
Original pre-primary story:
As the city's most impoverished borough, the Bronx has seen its deep-rooted problems exacerbated by the pandemic. It currently ranks as the state's unhealthiest county, with heart disease and obesity afflicting many in the borough. While the Bronx's unemployment rate stood at 4% in December 2019, it has soared as high as 24% during the pandemic, leaving scores of Bronx residents jobless.
But it doesn't mean all of the Bronx's successes have been obliterated. Construction of new residences remains strong across the borough, though other large-scale projects—including the construction of four Metro-North stations along an existing Amtrak line and the Kingsbridge National Ice Center—remain in limbo for at least five years.
Five Democratic candidates for the Bronx Borough President race are hoping to restore gains made in the borough in the last decade under the current seat-holder, the term-limited Ruben Diaz Jr. In the last week, the field narrowed after Bronx Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr., the perceived front-runner in the race, announced he is withdrawing his name.
Though their offices come with control of a modest discretionary budget, Borough Presidents have no significant legislative power, and are widely perceived as cheerleaders with a powerful megaphone. These are the contenders vying to lead the Bronx and make their borough a top priority for the city.
Fernando Cabrera
Council Member Fernando Cabrera, 56, has represented the 14th Council District in the northwest Bronx since 2010 and currently serves as the Council’s majority whip and chair of the Government Operations Committee. And while he's a registered Democrat, he's by far the most conservative candidate compared to his rivals, given his weekend work as an ordained senior pastor at New Life Outreach International in the Fordham section of the Bronx.
As a borough president candidate, Cabrera seeks to expand the Cure Violence model, which places violence interrupters to quell any beefs in high-crime areas, a program that's already implemented in parts of his district. He also promises to champion more affordable housing in areas of the Bronx, continuing a cause he pushed when he voted for the Jerome Avenue rezoning, the largest approved rezoning in the borough. The rezoning ushered the creation of thousands of units of affordable housing and infrastructure improvements along 77 blocks across the avenue, but also exacerbated fears of displacement from longtime residents. Borough-wide, Cabrera also seeks to have the NYPD's harbor patrol unit permanently dispatched to the Bronx, where the unit does not currently operate.
Fast Fact: With Salamanca Jr. no longer in the race, Cabrera now leads with the most campaign donations at $155,000 compared to Salamanca's $534,000.
Nathalia Fernandez
The youngest candidate in the race, Assembly Member Nathalia Fernandez, 32, currently represents the 80th Assembly District that spans Morris Park, Allerton, and Norwood neighborhoods of the Bronx. It's a district whose voters lean Democrat but tend to be more socially conservative. Fernandez has successfully campaigned there by presenting herself as the "bridge" between the old and new ways of politicking. Since 2012, Fernandez has risen from campaign volunteer, office manager, and chief of staff for her then-boss, former Assembly Member turned Council Member Mark Gjonaj, whose district she now represents.
As a candidate, Fernandez supports revisions to the Area Median Income formula that helps guide rent prices in affordable housing residences, changing it to only include current incomes of Bronx residents and exclude those in wealthier Westchester and Rockland counties. Fernandez also supports a green jobs program that would employ Bronx residents to build environmentally-friendly infrastructure projects. Fernandez is also a proponent of police reform, and has advocated for a pilot program in which communities are given a chance to resolve their differences before the police are called.
Fast Fact: Should Fernandez win the borough presidency, she would be the first Latina to hold the job.
Vanessa Gibson
City Council Member Vanessa Gibson, 41, is vying to be the first Black Bronx borough president. A term-limited Council Member for the 16th District, Gibson's platform is largely focused on implementing a jobs program for Bronx residents reeling from the economic downturn brought on by the pandemic. Gibson has also touted her critical vote in approving the Jerome Avenue rezoning effort, which came after securing a legally binding community benefits agreement.
On her campaign website, Gibson is pushing to invest in the aging transit system, pushing for the creation of community schools that provide holistic services to students, and expanding the city's Health Bucks initiative, which provides low-income New Yorkers with gift certificates for purchasing produce. Before declaring a run, Gibson touted her experience working on the state level as an Assembly Member to help steer greater resources to the Bronx. Gibson also believes in greater investments for youths, such as the Summer Youth Employment Program and re-entry programs intended to keep kids from getting caught up in a cycle of crime.
Fast Fact: Gibson had once represented the 77th Assembly District, which was vacated by Aurelia Greene, who became Bronx Deputy Borough President.
Samuel Ravelo
A retired NYPD lieutenant, Samuel "Sammy" Ravelo, 52, is the only candidate not to have held legislative office. Ravelo is opposed to the Defund the Police movement, which he called "erroneous," and wants to fund the NYPD more and advocate for greater officer training. Investments toward education are also a priority for Ravelo, who, in light of the pandemic, advocates for free high-speed internet across a borough where such a service has fallen short. Ravelo, who ran unsuccessfully for the 16th Congressional District, may need to brush up on his knowledge of some critical functions of the borough presidency; in a recent debate he referred to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure—the public review process for any affordable housing development—as the "United" Land Use Review Procedure.
Fast Fact: Ravelo is the only candidate who was once an undocumented immigrant.
Luis Sepulveda
Though he hasn't formally declared, Luis Sepulveda, 56, has raised funds and made the rounds in running for the top borough spot, participating in forums with other candidates. But Sepulveda's political prospects dimmed two weeks ago after he turned himself in to police for allegedly choking his wife, the latest in a string of domestic violence claims made against Sepulveda. A state Senator for the 32nd District, Sepulveda is touting his experience in Albany, taking credit for relocating weigh stations in Hunts Point, dismantling the Cross Bronx Expressway, and getting guarantees from a tech-based firm to establish a STEM program at a school. Sepulveda is also looking to prioritize greater protections for undocumented immigrants, continuing that trend he began on the state level after his bill to provide undocumented immigrants drivers licenses.
Fast Fact: Sepulveda recently visited the South Bronx Educational Campus for the city's rollout of a vaccination clinic in his district -- days before his arrest.
Tagged
election 2021
bronx
2021 Voter Guide
borough president
David Cruz
David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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