Fernando Cabrera

Fernando Cabrera (born April 16, 1964) is an American pastor and politician from the Bronx, New York City. A Democrat, he represented the 14th district in the New York City Council from 2010 to 2021, serving as the council's majority whip in his final term.

Cabrera is the founding senior pastor of New Life Outreach International, a Bronx church, and previously directed the mental health counseling program at Mercy College. He was a registered Republican before changing his affiliation in 2008. After winning the 14th district seat in 2009, he ran unsuccessfully for the New York State Senate in 2014 and 2016 and for Bronx Borough President in 2021, and briefly sought to challenge Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2020. From 2022 to 2023 he was a senior advisor in Mayor Eric Adams's Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships, an appointment opposed by LGBT advocacy groups because of his earlier statements on homosexuality. He sought his former council seat again in 2025 and lost the Democratic primary.

Cabrera is a socially conservative Democrat. He is an opponent of abortion and opposes same-sex marriage.

Early life and education Cabrera was born in the Bronx to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother. He was born at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx and has an identical twin brother, Angelo. When the brothers were four the family moved to Puerto Rico and then to Southern California, in part to relieve Angelo's severe asthma. Cabrera has said that he converted to Christianity at the age of 17. 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 Ministry and academic career After completing his studies Cabrera directed New Life for Youth, a faith-based drug rehabilitation program in Virginia. He returned to the Bronx in 1988 and founded the church New Life Outreach International, which grew to several locations in the northwest Bronx. He also worked as a counselor at Walton High School and served on a local community board, and by 2000 was head of the counseling program at Mercy College. He defeated Baez by 1.37% in a three-way race that also included Yudelka Tapia. In November, he won the general election against Republican Yessenia A. Duran and Conservative Lisa Marie Campbell. He won re-election in 2013 by a large margin. The district covers Claremont Village, Fordham, Kingsbridge, Marble Hill, Morris Heights, Mount Eden, Mount Hope and University Heights. He was term-limited and left the council at the end of 2021, and was succeeded by Pierina Sanchez.

Campaigns for other offices In 2014, Cabrera challenged Senator Gustavo Rivera in the Democratic primary but lost 59% to 41%. He challenged Rivera again in 2016 and lost by a larger margin, 63% to 37%.

In 2019, Cabrera announced that he would challenge Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic primary for New York's 14th congressional district, while criticizing her support for democratic socialism. On March 1, 2020, Cabrera announced that he was ending his bid against Ocasio-Cortez and that he would instead run for Bronx borough president in 2021. He lost the nomination to Vanessa Gibson, then chair of the council Committee on Public Safety. The contest was decided by ranked-choice voting; after the final round of tabulation Gibson had 53.5% to Cabrera's 46.5%.

Adams administration In February 2022, New York City mayor Eric Adams appointed Cabrera as a senior advisor in the city's Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships. LGBT groups criticized the appointment, citing Cabrera's history of opposing same-sex marriage. Shortly before the appointment was announced, he publicly apologized for his past remarks, saying that he had been unaware of the treatment of LGBT people by the Ugandan government when he spoke there in 2014 and that he believed "in the rights of all people, regardless of sexual orientation". Adams said that he had heard and accepted the apology.

Cabrera left the position in June 2023. City Hall said he was departing to devote more time to his ministry.

2025 City Council campaign In 2025, Cabrera sought to regain his former City Council seat, challenging his successor, Pierina Sanchez, in the Democratic primary. He campaigned on issues including crime and housing conditions. In the June 24 primary, he finished second with 22% of the vote, behind Sanchez, who received 66%. A third candidate, Bryan Hodge Vasquez, received 10.8%.

Political positions LGBT rights During his first primary bid against Rivera in 2014, Cabrera attracted ire for his opposition to abortion and gay marriage, as well as his apparent praise of a Ugandan anti-gay law. In a video posted to 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." In February 2022 he apologized for those remarks.

Electoral history

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. He is married to Elvia Cabreraб the couple have two children.