Joseph Hernandez, a 52-year-old entrepreneur originally from Cuba, was motivated to enter the New York City mayoral race by his disdain for the left-wing policies championed by Zohran Mamdani.
"I am the absolute polar opposite of Zohran Mamdani and what he stands for," Hernandez told Fox News Digital. "I believe that hard work, education and grit are what makes you successful in this country."
ZOHRAN MAMDANI LAUNCHES ANTI-TRUMP TOUR ACROSS FIVE BOROUGHS IN NEW YORK CITY
Hernandez, a Manhattan businessman, leads Blue Water Venture Partners, a healthcare and technology investment firm. He has also founded over a dozen healthcare and pharmaceutical companies over the course of his career, according to his campaign's website.
"I don't really need to do this in my career or my life, but I'm really, really concerned with the trajectory of this great city," he told Fox News Digital.
Hernandez said he launched his independent mayoral bid a little over a month ago, and since then, has raised around $300,000.
"We think we have a lot of support, and we continue to ask people to support us because we have a big battle," he said. "This is a big political machine that's fighting us."
NYC OFFICIAL WARNS BUSINESSES WILL FLEE 'IN DROVES' IF DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST CANDIDATE WINS MAYORAL RACE
If elected, he has three main priorities: safety, affordability and technology. He hopes to bolster public safety by hiring 10,000 additional police officers, improve city services through the use of artificial intelligence and transform vacant office space into affordable housing.
"The city is not safe," Hernandez told Fox News Digital. "You can't ride the subways at night. Women get attacked on almost a nightly basis. People get robbed here. There's no law and order - there is zero respect for law."
At age seven, Hernandez came to the U.S. with his family to flee Fidel Castro's communist rule.
"My father was a political prisoner in Cuba. He was thrown in prison because he didn't agree with the communist regime, and they stole effectively all our properties and businesses," he said. "… We came to this country with nothing. … This is an amazing society, and we're letting it slip."
MAMDANI LANDS ENDORSEMENT OF A TOP CUOMO BACKER IN NYC MAYORAL PRIMARY
Hernandez acknowledged that concerns over him splitting the moderate and conservative vote are understandable. However, he believes the real issue is the way New York City runs its elections.
"I filed a lawsuit against the city a couple of weeks ago, really requiring that they bring back ranked-choice voting in the general election," he said.
Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani maintains a hefty lead in the New York City mayoral race, according to a recent Siena poll of registered voters.
Mamdani is polling at 44%, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who's running as an independent, is at 25%. Republican Curtis Sliwa is at 12%, and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is at 7%.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The campaign for Zohran Mamdani did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
