Joseph Hernandez arrived in the United States in 1980 at the height of the Mariel boat lift. Fidel Castro decided to allow 125,000 Cubans to flee that imprisoned island, and the Hernandez family were one of the lucky ones to make it.
Castro was desperate to alleviate the pressure on his failing economy. Even with billions of dollars in aid from the Soviet Union (including free oil), Cuba's socialist economy was in free fall.
Seven-year-old Joseph Hernandez saw it all. He saw his father arrested for anti-Castro agitation and suffer from a near-fatal bout of encephalitis in prison, only to escape when Castro emptied the jails of hardened criminals and political prisoners.
Arriving in America with absolutely nothing, Joseph's father went to work as a dishwasher while his mother cleaned houses.
"My parents taught us to work hard, have faith, get educated, and love our adopted country,” he says. “That, they said, would change the course of my life. And they were right.”
Over two decades, he built and led more than a dozen companies focused on improving public health, five of which went public.
Now he's running for mayor of New York City as a counterpoint to radical socialist Zohran Mamdani.
I’m Joseph Hernandez, and I’m running for Mayor of New York City— not as a politician, but as a citizen who’s had enough. I’ll be on the ballot running as an Independent on November 4th.
— Joseph Hernandez (@hernandezfornyc) June 16, 2025
Let’s take back New York. Together.#hernandezfornyc #fortheloveofthecity pic.twitter.com/dooPdIhSgA
“I was raised in a socialist communist society, so I am the antithesis of Zohran Mamdani’s ideology,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez continued, “In fact, he’s a motivator for me to fight in this race. I despise socialism. I am a believer in the American dream. I’m a believer in capitalism. It’s not perfect, but it’s lifted more people out of poverty than any other ideology."
The New York City mayoral field includes Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, Mayor Eric Adams, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and defense lawyer Jim Walden. Each of those candidates is declaring that they are the alternative to Mamdani.
A recent Sienna poll had Mamdani far ahead at 44%, followed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo with 25%, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa with 12% and Mayor Eric Adams with 7%. Hernandez was a late entry, not filing papers to enter the race until June.
One analyst referred to Hernandez as "hyper-educated." He earned a degree in neuroscience, followed by a master’s in molecular genetics and microbiology and an MBA from the University of Florida. Later, he added a master’s in epidemiology and biostatistics from Yale and is studying for a Global Healthcare Leadership degree at Oxford.
Professionally, Hernandez made his mark in the biotech and healthcare industries. Over two decades, he built and led more than a dozen companies focused on improving public health, five of which went public. He developed a reputation for solving complex problems, from advancing drug research to managing large teams under pressure. That success is now the foundation for his leap into politics. “I’m really trained as a scientist and I built businesses. I’ve built, bought 12 different companies and we bought five of them public,” he says. “My background is really in business and so the political world is a new one to me. But I feel this is my opportunity to pay back to a society and a city that gave me so much.”
Many of Hernandez's priorities revolve around public safety. In addition to hiring 10,000 more police officers, Hernandez wants Albany to repeal the "bail reform" bill that has resulted in hundreds of crimes being committed by criminals who would previously have been locked up because of high bail.
He wants to convert unused office space into residential apartments, and he wants to use AI and smart city tech to clean streets, improve traffic, and digitize public services.
With just $300,000 raised so far, Hernandez is playing catch-up. Few serious analysts are giving him much of a chance. But the registered Republican reminds some New Yorkers of John Lindsay, who served as mayor from 1966-73. Lindsay was elected as a Republican but ended up losing the GOP primary in 1969. He ran as an independent and won the 1970 contest.
An interesting man. And at 52, we may hear more from Mr. Hernadez in the future.
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