The most heated City Council race in the Bronx is burning several degrees hotter after key endorsements went to a rising but relatively unknown political rookie.

Last week, the Bronx Democratic County Committee and the Working Families Party both endorsed Dr. Fernando Cabrera, a 45-year-old professor at Mercy College and the pastor of New Life Outreach International Church who is making his first run for political office. He is one of four candidates vying to unseat the embattled incumbent, Maria Baez, in the 14th District.

“I’m really humbled by it and honored by [the endorsements],” Cabrera said. “My intention here is to bring forth that type of leadership that we need and that’s been lacking here.”

The endorsements represent a huge boost for Cabrera, who appears to be distinguishing himself among the crowd of 14th District challengers, which also includes former community organizer Yorman Nunez, city accountant Yudelka Tapia, city financial consultant Miguel Santana and former state legislative aide Yesenia Polanco.

The 14th District stretches down the western edge of the Bronx, from Kingsbridge Heights to Mt. Hope.

Baez Reacts

The endorsements are a direct rebuke of Baez, who had the worst attendance record of any Council member in 2008. She is the only Bronx incumbent not to receive the County Committee’s endorsement. 

“It’s sad,” Baez said. “First of all, I’m the dean of the [Bronx City Council] delegation, I’m an incumbent, and [the County Committee’s leaders] are supposed to be working on quote-unquote ‘unity.’”

Baez was part of the old County Committee leadership team that was ousted last fall by a multi-racial alliance of Bronx elected officials, including new chairman Carl Heastie, a state assemblyman. 

She offered up two reasons for why the new County leaders sided with Cabrera. 

“Unfortunately, in my opinion, this has to do with gender,” Baez said. “Understand, they think I’m the weakest link, but I think that’s not true. I’m not the weakest link.”

She added, “This is a case of gender bias. It’s because I’m a woman.”

Patrick Jenkins, a spokesman for the County Committee, laughed off Baez’s accusations, pointing out other female candidates supported by the Committee, including Maria del Carmen Arroyo, Helen Foster and Annabel Palma. “I would love to hear how she came up with that argument,” he said.

An Alternative Emerges

The endorsement came down to the support and opinions of local district leaders, Jenkins said.  (There are 24 in the Bronx, one male and one female leader for every Assembly district in the borough.)  “There were several district leaders who expressed that they weren’t happy with Maria Baez, and County leadership strongly listened to what was being said,” Jenkins said.

He added that Cabrera’s “track record of speaking out and being present went a long way [toward helping him get the endorsement].” 

Last week, the Working Families Party (WFP), which often leans Democratic but is officially a “third party,” also endorsed Cabrera, a registered Republican until recently. Party spokesperson Bryan Collinsworth said the fact that Cabrera only recently switched parties and does not support gay marriage (even though the party advocates for it), was not a factor in their decision-making process.

“We’re focusing primarily on issues the Council can impact,” Collinsworth said. “The most important things are the candidate’s views on the most pressing issues right now, on jobs, health care and education.”

Collinsworth specifically mentioned Cabrera’s “outspoken” advocacy for living wage jobs at the new Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment project and his efforts to turn the old Fordham Library into community space rather than an animal shelter.

Fellow candidate Nunez, in fact, advocated for a community takeover of the old library building as a youth organizer with the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition at least a year before Cabrera did. Nunez, like Cabrera, also advocates for living wages at the Armory. Collinsworth said he couldn’t speak to the merits of the others under consideration, but said Cabrera emerged as the strongest candidate after much deliberation.

What Does It Mean?

It’s still unclear exactly what the two groups will do to help Cabrera. Both the County Committee and the WFP said they will offer resources on a need basis. “Practically, it’s a validation,” Cabrera said. “When you receive an endorsement of an influential and powerful organization, it means he’s been checked out, he’s been verified.”

Cabrera, who just moved into the district from Pelham last July (though his church has been in the Bronx for two decades), said he’s spent the last few months doing interviews and filling out questionnaires. “That’s been my life,” he said, laughing.

Other candidates weren’t deterred by the endorsements.

Baez, who downplayed her poor attendance record (it was related to a “health scare,” she said, but wouldn’t go into details), said she hadn’t ever worked with or heard of Cabrera. “My issue is about getting Maria Baez re-elected,” she said. “I’m running on my record,” she added, pointing to the millions of dollars in capital funds she’s brought to the district. (Jenkins and other candidates pointed out that the Council allocates millions of dollars to every member.)

Santana, who’s facing a serious fund-raising deficit, said Cabrera’s ascent might even be to his advantage. “I’m small potatoes at this point,” he said. “But if they [Baez and Cabrera] continue to knock and drag each other out, we can continue on our pace, slow and steady.”

On the other hand, Israel Ruiz, Jr., a former state senator and City Councilman who said he thought about running in the 14th just to get rid of Baez, said if three or four candidates get on the ballot, “Maria Baez will win.”

But none of the other challengers felt that way. “I believe Maria Baez, she herself, has brought the fate that’s coming upon her,” said Tapia, a mother of four who was leading all candidates in fund-raising by the middle of May. “It doesn’t matter how many candidates are running. The community’s getting smart.”