Mayor Eric Adams is casting about for a new position for a controversial pastor and former politician who has made anti-gay comments, after LGBTQ advocates revolted when he tried to name him head of a mental health office.
Fernando Cabrera, who represented the Bronx as a Democrat in the City Council, has been showing up at a municipal building across the street from City Hall while he awaits his assignment in the Adams administration, three people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.
An Adams spokesperson confirmed Cabrera would not be appointed to lead the Office of Community Mental Health as originally planned, but did not address whether he would be tapped for another job.
“While we do not typically comment on pending appointments, as stated previously, Mr. Cabrera is not under consideration for the critical role of leading the Office of Community Mental Health,” spokesperson Jonah Allon said. He would not say whether Cabrera has been earning pay while in limbo.
Cabrera walked into City Hall Thursday afternoon and sat for nearly an hour on a bench outside a suite of mayoral offices. He did not respond to several requests for comment.
His likely appointment to the mental health office, formerly known as ThriveNYC, was scuttled after a flood of criticism over his stances on same-sex marriage and abortion that were captured in a video posted to YouTube in 2014. POLITICO first reported on news of his potential job Feb. 3.
In the video, Cabrera praised the Ugandan government for withstanding pressure from the United States of America to “allow gay marriage.”
“And they have stood in their place. Why? Because the Christians have assumed the place of decision-making for the nation. Abortions are illegal here — things that Christians really stand for. Why? Because the Christians here took the opportunity to take their rightful place,” Cabrera says in the short video from a visit to the East African country.
As a result of Uganda’s actions, he said, the nation’s rate of HIV fell dramatically.
News that Cabrera is still in contention for a job angered Allen Roskoff, a gay rights activist and president of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, who likened the pastor to white supremacist David Duke.
“Why is it okay to hire a well-known homophobe to be part of your administration anywhere, anywhere in this city? No matter what the job is, you shouldn’t be hiring bigots — I don’t care if he’s going to work in a stock room,” Roskoff said in an interview Thursday. “The gay community does not feel that this administration has its back.”
“It’s an insult and a slap in the face to the LGBTQ community,” he added.
Among those who have urged Adams to reconsider the Cabrera appointment are staffers within his own administration and former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, several people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.
Read more: politico.com
