Fernando James Ferrer (born April 30, 1950) is an American politician who was the borough president of

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

from 1987 to 2001. Ferrer was a candidate for

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

in 1997 and 2001 and was the Democratic Party nominee for mayor in 2005, when he was defeated by

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

. Ferrer served on the New York City Council in the 1980s and has served as chairman and vice chairman of the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...

Early life and education

Ferrer grew up in the Longwood section of the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

. He graduated from

Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...

s in the Bronx: St. Anselm Elementary School and Cardinal Spellman High School. Ferrer earned his B.A. degree from the University Heights Campus of New York University and his M.P.A. from

Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City, United States. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the colle ...

Career

New York City Council

Ferrer represented the former 13 City Council district in the Bronx from 1982 to 1987. Ferrer authored legislation requiring interpreters in city emergency rooms. Ferrer went on to chair the Health Committee, fight for anti-discrimination laws on behalf of gays and lesbians, and lead the fight for a

Civilian Complaint Review Board The NYC Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) is a civilian oversight agency with jurisdiction over the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the largest police force in the United States. A board of the Government of New York City, the CCR ...

for the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

Bronx Borough President

Ferrer was appointed Bronx Borough President as the result of incumbent Stanley Simon's resignation in connection with the Wedtech scandal. In 1987, Simon, aware that he had been under investigation and that charges against him were pending, resigned from his post. Ferrer began his 14-year tenure as Bronx borough president when the borough was a symbol of

urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...

and neglect. National attention led to a federal commitment to rebuild. During the Ferrer administration housing was created for about 66,000 families. The borough saw a significant drop in crime, particularly in the

neighborhood, and a steady rise in

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

and real estate

investment Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

Campaigns for Mayor of New York City

1997 mayoral campaign

In 1997, Ferrer launched a campaign for Mayor of New York. Trailing in the polls and under increased pressure from party insiders for a unified Democratic Party, he abruptly dropped out and endorsed the eventual Democratic nominee, Manhattan Borough President

Ruth Messinger Ruth Wyler Messinger (born November 6, 1940) is a former American political leader in New York City and a member of the Democratic Party. She was the Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City in 1997, losing to incumbent mayor Rudy Giulian ...

2001 mayoral campaign

In the 2001 election, Ferrer ran for the Democratic

nomination Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In ...

for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. He won the first

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

with 34%, but failed to win the necessary 40% to secure the nomination and ultimately lost a divisive

runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

to Mark Green following the September 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers. Ferrer, who is of Puerto Rican descent, received a high level of support from

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

voters but not from African-Americans.

2005 mayoral campaign

Ferrer was the Democratic candidate for mayor in 2005. Ferrer's campaign was hurt by remarks he made in March 2005 concerning the Amadou Diallo shooting. Ferrer, who'd marched in protest against the shooting when it occurred and had gotten arrested, expressed his belief to the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

Sergeants Benevolent Association that the incident was a "tragedy," but "not a crime." He was strongly criticized by Diallo's family and others for these remarks, and he slid in popularity polls, especially among

African-Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

. Ferrer prevailed in the primary election held on September 13, 2005. The first tally indicated that Ferrer garnered 39.95% of the final vote. He needed 40% to avoid a runoff, but Anthony D. Weiner, the second-place finisher, conceded, thus ensuring that Ferrer would advance to the general election. A final count indicated that Ferrer actually received 40.15% of the votes. Political analyst Fred Siegel summarized Ferrer's campaign as follows: :If anyone doubted the hapless nature of Ferrer's campaign they had only to watch his ads featuring the rotund Reverend Al Sharpton salsa dancing. In Fernando Ferrer's losing bid for mayor, that was about as innovative as things got. The campaign was also plagued by revenue problems as the ads they wished to use were too long and hence too expensive and these "salsa" ads were done to save money but also to hopefully get the campaign some needed attention. Sadly, the focus became Al Sharpton and the others used in these ads rather than the message they tried to convey. Ferrer's campaign was hurt when the ''New York Times'' and other big newspapers endorsed Mike Bloomberg. Also, Ferrer's campaign relied mainly on small contributions, compared to Bloomberg's $96 million from his personal billion dollar fortune. Bloomberg defeated Ferrer, 58.4%-39.0%, on Election Day. Polls taken just days before had indicated that Ferrer would lose by between 30 and 35 percent.

MTA Chairman

Andrew Cuomo appointed Ferrer to run the MTA as interim Chairman on three separate occasions.

Personal life

As of 2005, Ferrer resided in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrer, Fernando 1950 births 1992 United States presidential electors American people of Catalan descent Baruch College alumni Bronx borough presidents Cardinal Spellman High School (New York City) alumni Living people New York (state) Democrats New York University alumni People from Riverdale, Bronx Politicians from the Bronx Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Candidates in the 2005 United States elections 21st-century New York (state) politicians Candidates in the 1997 United States elections Candidates in the 2001 United States elections 20th-century New York (state) politicians