political profi les district 14
BY FERNANDO AQUINO
Fernando Aquino
Why are you running?
I am running because I believe we
need to invest in what belongs to us.
Our housing, our public schools, our
health care and our City University
belong to us and we must fi ght for the
investments in infrastructure, quality
and equitable access to all of it. I
have experienced how diffi cult it is for
working families to afford a dignifi ed
life. The government’s failure to protect
working families became more
starkly evident during this pandemic,
but inequality has run rampant in the
Bronx for decades, and the statistics on
healthcare, housing, unemployment
and almost every aspect of life, are an
ugly reminder and a warning that it is
time for a new leadership.
Tell us about yourself, what you do
for a living, your relationship to the district,
and which neighborhood you live
in
I am an immigrant New Yorker. I
came here almost 30 years ago (1991)
with little money in my pocket and no
place to live.
I am a parent, who has studied,
worked, and raised my family in the
Bronx. I am currently teaching at Lehman
College and have been living
in Kingsbridge Heights for the past 16
years. I have been a member of the Latino
communication network as a journalist,
worked for el Diario La Prensa
and other outlets, and as a spokesperson
for the Democratic Conference of
the State Senate under David Paterson
and a spokesperson for the Attorney
General offi ce, from 2011 to 2019.
What are the biggest challenges facing
the district and how will you solve
them?
We need to prioritize the areas of inclusive
housing, job training, benefi ts,
and security, and more access to higher
education. I believe that no one should
be paying more than 30 percent of their
income on housing. To level the playing
fi eld, we need affordability initiatives
that focus on the lower earners, by increasing
the number of units dedicated
to this particular group. I will bring a
laser like focus on solving systemic issues
like housing with long term investment
and sustainability models.
Budget allocations must prioritize
educational, employment-job training
and arts programs for those who do not
have the connections or money to obtain
these services on their own.
What will you do differently than
the incumbent?
The performance of our current
councilmember cannot be evaluated
independently from the disorganized,
and often confrontational way city and
state leaders managed this unprecedented
crisis. As a councilman, I would
have put more pressure on the state and
city government for the medical and fi -
Courtesy of Fernando Aquino
nancial resources needed; I would use
my offi ce to help small businesses with
the application process and to access
every available resource to help them
survive; I would have conducted daily
or several times a week digital forums
with community organizations and
health experts to get the temperature
of the situation in the district and fi nd
solutions.
What’s your political experience?
I have been fi ghting against the politics
of injustice since I was a teenager
in the Dominican Republic. As an immigrant
in New York for the past 30
years, I have always advocated for immigrant
causes. My job as a newspaper
reporter, and later in the State Senate
and in the Attorney General’s offi ce
provided me a policy advocacy avenue
in the areas of civil rights (including
immigrant rights), labor rights, consumer
protection, and criminal justice,
including gun control and police
brutality. In my work in the press departments
in these organizations I had
to review policy and create ways to disseminate
that information to give access
to the communities that would be
most affected by it.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M 64 ARCH 26-APR. 1, 2021 BTR
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