Council Member Fernando Cabrera (Photo: City Council)
Oct. 14, 2019 By Allie Griffin
A longtime city councilman and self-proclaimed “centrist” from the Bronx will challenge Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the democratic primary, according to reports.
Council Member Fernando Cabrera has told several outlets that he will run against Ocasio-Cortez for her Congressional District 14 seat, which includes parts of the east Bronx and Northwest Queens, including Jackson Heights, Sunnyside and parts of Astoria.
The council member told the New York Post he vows to run as the “pro-capitalist, pro-Amazon” alternative to the liberal Ocasio-Cortez, whom he denounced for being too socialist.
“AOC has brought nothing to the district — not one job. She cost the city 25,000 jobs by opposing the Amazon headquarters and $27 billion in revenues,” Cabrera told The Post.
The proposed Amazon site is in Long Island City outside the 14th Congressional district.
Cabrera told the New York Daily News that the Democratic freshman is out of touch with her district.
“We have a congresswoman that is literally steering us in the wrong direction,” Cabrera told the Daily News. “The district needs someone that’s going to be present, that’s going to attend to quality-of-life issues that are so pertinent to that district, someone that’s going to equally represent the Bronx and Queens together, who’s not going to run more jobs out of New York City.”
Following Cabrera’s comments yesterday, AOC’s campaign sent an email to supporters with the subject line “AOC’s Democratic Challenger.” Though the email didn’t mention Cabrera by name, it said “our opponent” would be “more than willing to raise huge dollars from wealthy donors, take special interest PAC money, and pander to corporate giants like Amazon.”
“Ever since we defeated Joe Crowley, corporate Democrats have been waiting for their chance to strike back,” the email noted. “Our opponent doesn’t play by the same rulebook we do.”
Cabrera, 55, was born in the Bronx to a Puerto Rican mother and a Dominican father and has represented City Council District 14 in the Bronx since 2010. He lives in Fordham, which is about a mile outside the 14th Congressional District.
He is also the senior pastor at a nondenominational church, New Life Church, in the Bronx and is known for his socially conservative views.
The pastor/councilman told the Post that he personally opposes gay marriage and abortion, but said they are the law of the land and won’t be big issues in the primary.
Cabrera repeatedly has repeatedly called socialism a failure and said it “destroys the middle class.”
While the council member has represented the Bronx for nearly a decade, he will have to win over Queens voters in a borough where he is less known.
When the Daily News asked what he’d do to win them over, Cabrera said, “I’ve done more for this city than she ever has. I’m known. People know the work that I have done. “
Other challengers to Ocasio-Cortez in 2020 include Republicans Scherie Murray and John Cummings.
Meanwhile, Badrun Khan from Queens plans to challenge Ocasio-Cortez in the primary.
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22 Comments
You have my Vote.
Anyone but Ocasio Cortes.
Good luck I hope he sends her back to her previous occupation. He sounds very reasonable and will do good for the people he will represent.
Is that what you mean by “I hope he sends her back to her previous occupation?” I guess helping your mom with her bills is a bad thing?
Nobody said it is a bad thing. She can go back to bartending and continue to help pay her mother s bills. Where did you read I said she couldn’t? By going back to the bar would be beneficial to both her mother and the people of Queens.
But I guess Trump tweeted it once so you have to fall in line
What in the hell are you talking about?
God you people are nuts. Have to drag Trump into everything. By the way I don’t read tweets. Jesus get a life!
i will vote for you keep the good ideas that what we need
You can have my vote!
Don’t know her as a person, but we don’t need mad dogs as politicians, biased, and trying to score against corporate entities. If she wants to live in a socialist environment, she is in the wrong latitudes of the world. I live in Jackson Heights.
Cabrera is great – a Dem I could vote for. He has a lot of respect for people something Ocasio-Cortez is lacking. She also lacks intelligence and is too much shoot from the hip. She does NOTHING for her constituents and I am one of them. She also dislikes Christians and Jews. Cabrera is a man of God.
Yes, Cabrera is a man of God with a church that Im sure pays ZERO taxes. Pastors are also con-artists who take money from foolish followers. Can someone ask Cabrera what has he done specifically for his constituents and congregation?
you are absolutes right since she wont nothing has come to our neighborhood she comes and talk to the people in corona but us in the neighbor don.t hear from her we vote to have a congresswoman in Washington to do something for us not to be fighting our own party doing what the president do be on twitter all the time that is what we don,t want do something for the neighborhood get rid off the homeless drug trafic prostitution the crime is risen at as fast as the 7 train
You have my vote!!!
The jig is up for the barmaid. Hope she remembers how to make a martini.
For this, Trump lovers ridicule her. Disgusting people.
I think she was a failed economist and ended up as a bartender…then the democratic socialists put out an audition for someone to play a congresswoman….she def has acting chops…what ever happened to her chief of staff who is under criminal investigation…didn’t she conspire to pay him below the threshold so he wouldn’t have to show all of his financial dealings? didn’t they siphon campaign money to entities he controlled as part of their graft so she could live in a nice condo in DC??
Get your facts straight. I know you libs have trouble with facts.
Can you name a single thing that wasn’t true? A hashtag isn’t an argument, it’s a failure.
Cap- Born with a silver spoon in your mouth? What is your resent toward working people? America is all about honest work and work ethics. I worked as a bartender to put myself through college and graduate school.
The fact that AOC is being challenged is a great thing, but too many challengers will dilute the anti-AOC vote and benefit her at the end. We need only one challenger to defeat socialism.
Glad to see another challenger. Wish that a strong Democrat from Queens would jump into the race soon.
He speaks reason. I will vote for him.