Fernando Ferrer

Fernando James "Freddy" Ferrer (born April 30, 1950 in the Bronx, New York) was the Borough President of The Bronx from 1987 to 2001, and was a candidate for Mayor of New York in 2001 and the Democratic Party nominee for Mayor in 2005. Image File history File links Freddy-ferrer-2005. ... April 30 is the 120th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (121st in leap years), with 245 days remaining, as the last day in April. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of United States. ... Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ... Borough President is an elective office in New York City. ... The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of New York City in the United States. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... For a list of the Dutch Director-Generals who governed New Amsterdam (as New York City was called when it was a Dutch-run settlement) between 1624 and 1664, see: Director-General of New Netherland. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, the other one being the Republican Party. ... Template:Diffgggtgerent calendars 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Background

Ferrer grew up on Fox Street in the Longwood section of the South Bronx and was raised by his mother and by his grandmother, who worked in the kitchen of the Waldorf-Astoria. Ferrer graduated from Catholic schools in the Bronx: St Anslem elementary school and Cardinal Spellman High School. He attended New York University before he got involved in community service as a student. Ferrer entered politics, and was elected to the New York City Council at the age of 32. Remembering how he had to translate for his grandmother when she was hospitalized, he 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 for the NYPD. Longwood may refer to: Longwood, Florida Longwood, Clark County, Wisconsin Longwood, Bronx, New York Longwood Station (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) Longwood University, Farmville, Virginia Longwood, Huddersfield Longwood, Saint Helena The Battle of Longwoods Longwood, County Meath, Ireland This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might... This article is about the hotel. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Catholic education. ... Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033 or 1034 - April 21, 1109), a widely influential medieval philosopher and theologian, held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. ... Francis Joseph Spellman, later Francis Cardinal Spellman, (May 4, 1889 - December 2, 1967) was the ninth bishop (sixth archbishop) of the Roman Catholic diocese of New York. ... New York University (NYU) is a major research university in New York City. ... New York City Hall The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. ... The New York City Police Department (NYPD) , the largest police department in the United States, has primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City. ...

Currently, Ferrer resides in the relatively affluent Riverdale section of the Bronx. Though both Riverdale and Ferrer's native Hunts Point are located in the Bronx, they are the wealthiest and poorest neighborhoods in the borough, respectively. Riverdale is the name of several cities, towns, and neighborhoods. ...

Bronx Borough President

Ferrer began his 14-year tenure as Bronx borough president when the Bronx was a symbol of 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 South Bronx neighborhood, and a steady rise in business and real estate investment. The Bronx is one of the five boroughs of New York City in the United States. ... Wall Street, Manhattan In economics, business refers to the social science of managing people to organize and maintain collective productivity toward accomplishing particular creative and productive goals. ... Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. ... Investment or investing is a term with several closely-related meanings in finance and economics, related to saving or deferring consumption. ...

2001 Mayoral Campaign

In 2001, Ferrer ran for the Democratic nomination for mayor. He won the first primary with 34%, but failed to win the necessary 40% to secure the nomination and ultimately lost a divisive runoff election to Mark Green. Ferrer, who is of Puerto Rican descent, received a high level of support from Hispanic voters. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, the other one being the Republican Party. ... Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger,greater) is the politician who serves as chief executive official of some types of municipalities. ... Primary is an adjective meaning first or first hand. It may refer to: Primary education or Primary school Primary care. ... Runoff voting is a voting system used in single-seat elections. ... Mark J. Green is a public interest lawyer, author and politician living in New York City. ... The Hispanic world Hispanic (Spanish: Hispano) is a term denoting a derivation from Spain, her people and culture. ... For the Finno-Ugric people, see Votes. ...

2005 Mayoral Campaign

Ferrer was the Democratic candidate for mayor, losing in the general election to incumbent Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2005 (see New York City mayoral election, 2005). Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Mike Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is a prominent Jewish American businessman, the founder of Bloomberg L.P., the 20th and current Mayor of the City of New York since its 1898 consolidation, and the 108th overall. ... Template:Diffgggtgerent calendars 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York City mayoral election of 2005 occurred on Tuesday November 8, 2005, with incumbent Republican mayor Michael Bloomberg defeating former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer, the Democratic nominee. ...

During the campaign, Ferrer proposed reviving a stock transfer tax for Wall Street to help pay for education; this tax ended in 1981. Ferrer sought to create 167,000 homes, proposed hiring 1,900 new police officers, supported same-sex marriage, opposed the Urstadt law, supported the Second Avenue Subway and was opposed to tolls on the East River bridges. On October 23, Ferrer proposed Home Owner Property Exemption, or HOPE, a tax break for homeowners with a home property value of less than $100,000. For other uses, see Wall Street (disambiguation). ... Same-sex marriage is marriage between two people who are of the same sex (i. ... The Second Avenue Line, usually called the Second Avenue Subway (SAS), refers to a series of public works projects and engineering studies undertaken to construct a subway underneath Second Avenue in New York Citys borough of Manhattan. ... New York City waterways: 1. ... A tax exemption is an exemption to the tax law of a state or nation in which part of the taxes that would normally be collected from an individual or an organization are instead forgone. ...

A theme of his election campaign was called the Two New Yorks. This is the conclusion of his stump speech:

This is not about one New York against the other, this is about building a city united in opportunity, where all of us live under the blessing of possibility.

There are two New Yorks. I have lived in both of them. Born in one, I crossed the bridge of hope and opportunity into the other, but I have never forgotten where I came from.

That bridge took me from shinning shoes on 149th Street and Southern Boulevard to this place where possibility opened up for me. It took me from Fox Street to the nomination of the Democratic Party to be Mayor of my hometown.

It is that bridge that is the most important human infrastructure project, the bridge with planks of hope and opportunity that most be carefully maintained by a mayor who has never forgotten the millions of New Yorkers must be able to walk over that bridge too.

And I will never stop fighting for what I believe in until every New Yorker can cross that bridge – and live in the greatest city in the world, with every opportunity they deserve, and where every dream—the way my mother believed—is possible.

His 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, expressed his belief to the New York City Police Department Sergeant's 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. Amadou Bailo Diallo (September 2, 1975 - February 4, 1999), a Guinean living in New York City, was killed under controversial circumstances by four white police officers in the New York City Police Departments Street Crime Unit, at 1157 Wheeler Avenue in the Soundview section of the Bronx. ... The New York City Police Department (NYPD), the largest police department in the United States, has primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within The Five Boroughs of New York City. ... African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or black Americans, are an ethnic group in the United States of America whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Sub-Saharan and West Africa. ...

Opponents such as Christopher X. Brodeur criticized Ferrer for being part of the powerful, corrupt Bronx political machine. Christopher X. Brodeur is a journalist, artist, cartoonist, political activist, and two-time political candidate for the mayor of New York City. ... A political machine is an unofficial system of political organization based on patronage, the spoils system, behind-the-scenes control, and longstanding political ties within the structure of a representative democracy. ...

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 Ferrer would advance to the general election. A final count of the total votes indicated that Ferrer actually received 40.15% of the votes. Rep. ...

Over the course of the campaign he was endorsed by Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer, Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, former Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Sen. John Edwards, as well as Howard Dean, Reverend Al Sharpton, the Working Families Party and former mayor David Dinkins. Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is the current Attorney General for New York State and a candidate for the 2006 Democratic nomination for Governor of New York. ... Charles Ellis Chuck Schumer (born November 23, 1950) is an American politician. ... Hillary Rodham Clinton (born Hillary Diane Rodham on October 26, 1947) is the junior United States Senator from New York, serving her freshman term since January 3, 2001. ... This article is about the American attorney and politican. ... Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and physician from the U.S. state of Vermont. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... The Working Families Party (WFP) is a left-wing-progressive minor political party in the US state of New York, which has now expanded efforts into a number of other states, including the creation of the Connecticut Working Families Party and organizing projects in a number of other states. ... David Dinkins David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (born July 10, 1927 in Trenton, New Jersey) was the Mayor of New York City from 1989 through 1993, the first (and to date only) African American to hold that office. ...

Bill Clinton endorsed Ferrer on October 20. Despite the importance of the endorsement, local media such as 1010 WINS: emphasized minor snafus, arguing that "Ferrer's golden opportunity was nearly wasted as miscommunication between Clinton's office and Ferrer's campaign caused some snags and disarray." Ferrer's camp alleged that precisely this sort of pervasive anti-Ferrer media bias significantly affected the campaign. William Jefferson Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 72 days remaining. ...

Neoconservative political analyst Fred Siegal summarized Ferrer's campaign in The New Republic [1]: For other uses, see the disambiguation section. ...

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.

Ferrer's campaign was hurt when the New York Times and other big newspapers vehemently endorsed Mike Bloomberg. Also, Ferrer's campaign relied mainly on small contributions, compared to Bloomberg's $80 million from his personal billion dollar fortune. Salsa dancing. ...

Bloomberg defeated Ferrer by a margin of 19 percent.

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

list of famous Puerto Ricans in alphabetical order by last names, where applicable. ...

External links

• Fernando Ferrer campaign webpage