During back-to-back campaign events in the Bronx last Friday and Saturday, two pairs of candidates running for elected office cross-endorsed each other ahead of the Democratic primaries in June. On March 12, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson endorsed fellow council member, Vanessa Gibson, for Bronx borough president, since incumbent, Ruben Díaz Jr., announced last year he was not seeking re-election. The following day, March 13, State Sen. Brian Benjamin endorsed Assembly Member Nathalia Fernández, also for the Bronx borough presidency. In return, Gibson and Fernández endorsed Johnson and Benjamin, respectively, for the position of city comptroller.

 

During the first event, Johnson referred to Gibson, who represents the Bronx’s 16^th City Council District, as “not just my colleague, but my dear, dear friend.” Standing together in Fordham Plaza, Johnson, who represents Manhattan’s West Side, recounted his experience of working with Gibson. “Anyone who knows Vanessa knows that number one, she doesn’t sleep…. She’s always awake because she’s always working,” he said. “She is someone with the right values, the right vision, and the right work ethic for the borough of the Bronx to recover out of this COVID pandemic.”

 

Both Johnson and Gibson had been heavily involved in the City budget re-negotiations last June, facing mounting pressure amid the George Floyd protests to defund the police, Johnson in his capacity as speaker and Gibson as part of her budgetary committee duties. It has been speculated that Johnson lost some political clout following his vote on that revised budget. He subsequently withdrew from the mayoral race, but later announced he was running for the position of city comptroller.

 

Johnson said Gibson had done crucial work leading the committee on the City’s capital budget, and making sure projects in schools, parks and streets were completed faster and with more transparency. “Vanessa Gibson will never stop fighting for the Bronx, and that’s why she’s going to be a terrific Bronx Borough President,” said Johnson.

 

For her part, Gibson, who turns 42 on March 19, said throughout her time in the City Council, Johnson has been an ally, enacting policies that make the city more affordable, the criminal justice system fairer, and the education system more equal.

 

Describing it as an honor to work alongside Johnson, an “amazing speaker,” Gibson said, “Corey has helped lead our city through one of the most difficult fiscal crises we have faced, and he did so while continuing to prioritize communities in need. He has always been responsive to the needs and concerns of our neighborhoods and acted quickly to ensure we had the resources we needed when the COVID-19 pandemic began.”

 

After the formal endorsement announcements were concluded, Gibson and Johnson walked, with some campaign supporters, along the business corridor on East Fordham Road speaking with merchants and pedestrians as they did so.

 

A day later, Benjamin, who represents the 30th senatorial district in Manhattan which encompasses Harlem, East Harlem, and the Upper West Side, and who, as reported by the Norwood News, was recently endorsed by the Bronx Democratic Party for the position of city comptroller, showed up at Soundview Park in the South Bronx to endorse Fernández for borough president.

 

The senator spoke to the Norwood News about the position of borough president in the context of widely reported friction between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, and how, ultimately, the people of the Bronx get hurt when the two disagree on policy solutions. He said he felt that someone with experience in Albany politics, like Fernández, who represents the 80^th Assembly District, would be an effective leader in the borough president’s office.

“The issues between the governor and the mayor, and how they go back and forth – we can solve that because we understand how important Albany is, but we also know the City,” Benjamin said. “We [the state legislature] provide a lot of the revenue that the City needs in order to function and we live in these neighborhoods.”

 

Benjamin described Fernández, 32, as part of a new generation of political leaders focused on the most pressing issues for the average Bronxite, like affordable housing. “As a senator, I’ve been fighting for affordable housing.” he said. “For me, that’s the kind of partner I need, because there’s no more important issue that we have to deal with in the City of New York than affordable housing. She and I can get that done together.”

 

During the event, a local resident who went by the name, Mrs. Etta, and described herself as a community liaison, pressed Fernández on the issue of getting more people from the neighborhood employed on the many construction sites she sees in the South Bronx.

 

“I’ve been in the construction business 30-something years,” Etta said. Referencing some of the safety training that is required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), before construction workers can enter a site, she asked what the candidates would do to help more Bronxites become qualified for jobs in construction.

 

Fernández thanked Etta for the question, saying it was absolutely her number one priority to ensure that the jobs being brought to the borough would go to Bronxites first. “As borough president, I will mandate that any project or development that is confirmed here [will] make sure that Bronxites get the proper education, the proper training so they can be a part of the growth of this borough,” she told Etta.

 

She went on to propose the idea that community board offices could also serve as training centers for such jobs.

 

In addition to Gibson and Fernández, the race for Bronx borough president includes Councilman Fernando Cabrera who represents the 14^th City Council District and who is serving his final term, former NYPD detective, Sammy Ravelo, State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda, who represents the 32^nd senatorial district, and community activist, Victor Gutierrez. Rafael Salamanca Jr., councilman for the 17th City Council District, dropped out of the race recently, saying he could best serve the borough right now at City Council.

 

A win by either Gibson or Fernández would shatter at least one glass ceiling, with the election of the first, female Bronx borough president and possibly more. If Gibson wins, she could also become the first African American to be elected to the position, while a win by Fernández would see her as the first Latina (woman of Hispanic heritage) to take on the coveted role.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story