State Senator Gustavo Rivera, a Democrat representing the 33rd Senate District in the Bronx, told the Norwood News he thought he was going to have a quiet summer.

Those plans were scrapped after hearing he would once again have to defend his Senate seat against a familiar political adversary—Councilman Fernando Cabrera.

Cabrera, representing the Bronx’s 14th Council District, announced a run for the seat, confirming rumors that he would run again. His announcement goes against a request by Bronx Democratic County Committee chair Marcos Crespo to mend fences with Rivera shortly after the two squared off during the 2014 election cycle. Crespo, whose overarching goal is for more party unity, asked Cabrera to hold off on running again, according to Rivera. Cabrera’s run, according to Rivera, seems inexplicable. After all, Council members have a higher salary (thanks to a recent raise), are spared multiple trips to Albany, and have discretionary funding at their disposal.

For his part, Cabrera expressed disappointment in Rivera’s record of senatorial achievements within the last two years, calling him a “do-nothing Senator” who has brought “not a dollar” to the largely working poor district compared to millions of dollars other state senators in the Bronx have funneled into their respective districts (Albany legislators do not have discretionary funds). “That’s why we get elected—to bring resources to the community,” said Cabrera, who’s been in office the last seven years, and could seek another Council term. Cabrera added that no other legislator influenced him to run.

“I believe that I have the track record of having brought funding to our district, at a level of $40 million not just in our district, but citywide,” said Cabrera, citing other initiatives that included upgraded park facilities at St. James Park in Fordham, an anti-gun violence initiative dubbed Cure Violence, and more surveillance cameras than any other Council district in the city. “I would ask my opponent: ‘what schools have you brought funding to?’ And every single principal has told me that the Senator has not brought a dollar.’”

Cabrera, a Democrat, is an ordained minister with some conservative leanings. His positions led Rivera to characterize Cabrera as a “Republican in Democrats clothing.”

“We have a guy who is a Republican, changed his registration to Democrat just so he could run for office,” said Rivera. “He’s anti-choice, anti-woman, anti-LGBT, and he takes money from right-wing hedge-funders who really give money to Republicans across the country.”

Troubling Rivera more is Cabrera’s personal conservative stances, pointing to a 2014 incident where Cabrera praised the government of Uganda for it’s zero-tolerance policy on gay marriage. Cabrera called Rivera’s criticism “Donald Trump-type of politics” in which a legislator with no solid platform goes on the attack.

“He’s trying to bully people when you don’t have a track record,” said Cabrera. “That’s why he’s thinking what way. I understand; he’s scared.”

Rivera’s strength comes via his constituent services portion of his office helps in housing, immigration, business, and other legal matters free of charge. He’s also become the legislative point-man for the Kingsbridge Armory project, having organized a town hall forum on the status of the project. Cabrera, who did not attend the forum, was accused of using his position as Councilman to persuade developers of the project to fund his nonprofit in exchange for voting in favor of the project in 2013.

The race comes amid a potential shift in power within the state Senate. With Republicans holding a majority, albeit barely, the push to change the political winds in the state Senate has become paramount. Rivera has been considered a rabid attack dog for Democrats, primarily its leader, Andrew Stewart-Cousins.

“Cabrera is bucking county, which means that that’s a case of Sisyphus pushing a boulder up the hill,” said Bob Kappstatter, longtime Bronx journalist and currently a political/media consultant. “The question is how much money and how many troops can either candidate bring to the race.”

The 33rd Senate District covers the Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge Heights, University Heights, Fordham, Van Nest, Morris Park, and Crotona Park. Its reach is double the size of the 14th Council District, which Cabrera finds to be a desirable factor when running for the seat.

The last race saw between Cabrera and Rivera saw the incumbent grabbing 60 percent of the vote. Cabrera blamed a “liberal media” for his loss.

“What he’s asking me to do is to go back to my constituency and ask them again for their help and their support to continue working on their behalf I am more than happy to do that,” said Rivera. “That is a great summer to spend going up and down stairs in 90-degree weather.”

Rivera’s workload will be even greater this summer since his strongest ally, Assemblyman Victor Pichardo, is fighting back a challenge by his predecessor, Nelson Castro.

The primary is scheduled for September 13.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.