Joseph Hernandez Is Not Your Typical Politician
Joseph Hernandez is not your typical politician. The son of Cuban immigrants who fled Castro’s regime, he grew up watching his father scrub dishes and his mother clean houses to give their children a better life. From those modest beginnings, Hernandez went on to earn advanced degrees from the University of Florida, Yale, and Oxford, build a career as a scientist and entrepreneur, and take five companies public. Now, he’s aiming for his boldest challenge yet: running for mayor of New York City.
Hernandez’s life story begins in Camagüey, Cuba, where his father ran a small business until the communist government seized it. When Hernandez was just seven, his father was imprisoned and spent months in a coma from encephalitis. The family risked everything to leave Cuba, arriving in America with little more than hope. In Chicago, they started over—his father washing dishes, his mother cleaning homes—but they never let hardship define them. They taught Joseph that hard work, faith, and education could open doors. “My parents taught us to work hard, to have faith, to get educated, and to love our adopted country,” he says. “That, they said, would change the course of my life. And they were right.”
That lesson fueled Hernandez’s drive to achieve. The first in his family to attend college, he earned a degree in neuroscience, followed by a master’s in molecular genetics and microbiology and an MBA from the University of Florida. He later added a master’s in epidemiology and biostatistics from Yale and is currently pursuing a Global Healthcare Leadership degree at Oxford. Those years of rigorous study shaped his belief in data-driven decisions and innovative problem-solving.
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.”
Hernandez officially launched his campaign for mayor as an independent, positioning himself as a candidate unbound by political machines. He believes New York City is at a turning point, struggling with crime, housing shortages, and soaring costs of living. “If you look at New York City, unfortunately it’s an unsafe, dirty city that’s poorly operated, so there’s a lot of room for improvement,” he says.
Public safety tops his agenda. “It is ridiculous. New York City has become an unsafe place,” Hernandez says. His plan calls for hiring 10,000 new police officers by reallocating overtime funds, reviving grid patrols, and partnering with federal agencies when local prosecutors fail to act. “If we don’t control crime, the city will continue to spiral out of control.”
Housing affordability is another focus. With the city’s vacancy rate at just 1.4 percent compared to a national average of 6.8, Hernandez argues the crisis is rooted in limited supply. He pledges to convert millions of square feet of unused office space into apartments, unlock 40,000 rent-controlled units sitting idle, and ease regulations to accelerate construction. “Nothing works like the free market. You have to let the free markets work—and that means increasing supply.”
He also wants to tackle the cost of food by partnering with the Bodega Association to lower prices on essentials by 15 to 20 percent through bulk purchasing. “By addressing housing and food, that should really have an impact on the cost of living,” he says.
Technology is the third pillar of Hernandez’s campaign. His business experience shapes his vision for City Hall. He sees New York as a vast corporation—one that needs better management and innovation. “If you look at the budget for New York City, it’s astronomical. It’s a $120 billion budget, 300,000 employees. This is a large corporation,” he says. “We have to create processes and hire the right leadership to execute.” He plans to use artificial intelligence to improve efficiency across city services, from traffic control to budgeting. “Teams make a big difference,” he says. “Processes, efficiency, and technology are key to any successful business operation.”
While critics slam luxury developments for fueling inequality, Hernandez takes a balanced view. “They are a significant part of our tax base,” he says. “We need them, and we have to make sure they play fair. That’s the requirement.”
At the heart of his campaign is a belief in unity. Hernandez often recalls how New York thrives because of its diversity. “We need to unify New York City,” he says. “We’ve become so accustomed to separating people because of religion, faith, race, or ideology. Our commonality is the greatness of New York City and the people that make it so special.”
Despite running against big political names, Hernandez is carving out his own lane. Collecting nearly 15,000 petition signatures—four times the requirement—he has already shown he can build momentum without party backing. “I’m not motivated by money. I am not owned by anybody. Nobody owns me. I don’t owe any debts to anybody,” he says. “I’m here to do what’s right for the city, what’s right for the citizens, what’s right for our kids and the future of New York.”
For Hernandez, this campaign is personal. It’s the culmination of a life shaped by sacrifice, ambition, and gratitude for the opportunities his family found in America. “There are other cities competing to be the best city in the world, and we have to compete,” he says. “That’s the bottom line. I think I’m the best person to do that for the city.”
With his Cuban roots, academic pedigree, and record of business success, Joseph Hernandez offers voters something rare: a candidate who blends personal grit with visionary leadership. His message is simple but powerful—New York can be better, and he’s ready to make it happen.