Fernando Mateo

Fernando Mateo (born 1959) is President of Hispanics Across America and the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers. Although born in The Dominican Republic, he spent most of his youth in New York City.

Capitalist

Dropping out of Seward Park High School at the age of 15-due to what he described as an inhospitable learning environment-he began what would become an extremely prosperous entrepreneurial career, opening his first store at the age of 17. In addition to working as a successful contractor, Mateo established Carpet Fashions Inc., a carpet-furnishing franchise located in lower Manhattan, which generated a multi-million dollar business throughout the borough.

Mateo, in addition to selling his wares to affluent upper West Siders, also marketed his product to those New Yorkers who lived in tenements and high-rise apartments, most of which had unfurnished floors.

Activist

In 1998, Mateo founded the New York State Federation Of Taxi Drivers, a lobbying group and union of sorts comprised primarily of livery cab drivers. He states his intention was to solve the persistent problem of what had become an increasing number of, and escalation in brutality of, attacks on its membership. The history of the organization's founding, and how Mateo came to be the chairman and spokesperson is unclear. The organization deals mainly with New York City driver-related issues, rather than New York State as a whole.

Through his connections, he was able to become a regular on the news, speaking on behalf of drivers in a wide variety of venues, even as other taxi workers organizations working in the trenches with drivers received more limited attention. He has branched out into many other issues, but Mateo is chiefly known as a spokesperson for livery cab drivers lobbying elected officials, staging highly-publicized press conferences, and speaking with mainstream media outlets whenever a livery cab driver is murdered or assaulted in a particularly brutal manner. He garnered the attention of top Republican officians, and been appointed to various commissions.

Another signature issue for Mateo is his Toys for Guns drive, which Mateo began in 1993 at the behest of his son. Started in Washington Heights-where his family lived before moving to Westchester County-the premise behind the program was that taking guns off the streets through gun exchanges would gradually, but inexorably, reduce crime.

He then established a not-for-profit organization, Goods For Guns Inc., which attempts to expand upon Mateo's original idea by offering peer conflict resolution, establishing national gun exchanges, and formulating ideas aimed at preventing crimes involving handguns, especially those used by urban youth.

Political Arena

Mateo utilized his media visibility as an entrepreneur and community activist to become involved in Republican politics at a municipal, statewide, and national level.

Even though he is known chiefly for his involvement in GOP politics — he was one of the co-founders of the first GOP club in New York City composed of Dominican immigrants — Mateo has cultivated an image as a wildcard at times, willing to work with different, and sometimes hostile, political factions in order to achieve his goals, some of which his critics have described as quixotic.

Throughout his career Mateo has collaborated with both Al Sharpton and George Pataki—whom he has supported and criticized at different intervals in his career-as well as Michael Bloomberg who enlisted him in his re-election campaign with a specific focus on Latino outreach.

Perhaps his most notable achievement to date in this regard was a speech delivered to the 2004 Republican National Convention, which was held in New York City in August of that year.

Today

Fernando Mateo has also served as an advocate for this nation's immigrants, including taking a controversial stance on the issue of driver's licenses issued to New York residents who are thought to be in this country illegally, or who do not have proper legal documentation verifying their immigration status.

In what he perceives as a compromise on the subject, Mateo has offered a proposed solution, which would create a 'Immigrant Driver Permit' designed specifically to forestall the suspension or revocation of these drivers' licenses, and to allow authorities to track alien drivers whose immigration status could not otherwise be verified. [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60A13F8345D0C758EDDA00894DC404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fI%2fImmigration%20and%20Refugees]

Mateo has also supported President Bush's guest-worker visa program, which many critics have dubbed a thinly-veiled amnesty proposal.

According to the "New York Sun", Mateo's name has been considered during discussions over who will fill a seat on the CUNY Board of Trustees, one that has been vacant since the resignation of Jeffrey Wiesenfeld.

In August 2006, Mateo held a public press conference denouncing the intentions of Survivor producer Mark Burnett to stage a contest between contestants of different races in his show's upcoming season. Describing this plan as an "offensive and cheap trick" intended to boost the reality TV program's allegedly declining ratings he went on to assert that the show will deepen pre-existing racial tensions, and lead to a rise in gambling and violence. [http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411319/820737]

References

"-Carbo, Rosie "1994 Hispanic Achievement Awards, Fernando Mateo: Community Service," Hispanic, September, 1994 "

"-Rau, Jordan Rau "The Dominican Factor: Group struggles with political growing" Newsday, Aug 25, 2002"

-Rigg, Cynthia "Fernando Mateo-New York Rising Star-40 under 40| Crain's New York's Rising Stars" Crain's New York, 1992

"-Smith, Ben "Wiesenfeld and Mateo," New York Daily News, June 28, 2006"

External links

* [http://www.haamerica.org/haa/abouthaa.htm Hispanics Across America]
* [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0409/28/ldt.00.html Lou Dobbs Tonight] Panel Discussion Of Illegal Immigration
* [http://cheerarod.com/ Cheer A-Rod] An Alex Rodriguez appreciation site, started by Fernando Mateo
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1285/is_n3_v24/ai_15409057 A farewell to arms - gun control]
* [http://www.s5000.com/what_the_huck/821/hispanics_across_america_mateo.php Hispanic Fernado Mateo vs. Jennifer Wilbanks]
* [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7748388 Hispanics seek apology from runaway bride]
* [http://web.gc.cuny.edu/advocate/FEB05ISSUE/html/immigrantdriver.htm Immigrant Driver's Permits: A Perilous Two-Tier System]
* [http://www.newyorkbusiness-risingstars.com/profile.php?pageNum_profile_detail=20&year=20 Fernando Mateo, 33, President, Carpet Fashions Inc.]
* [http://www.tv.com/story/story.html&story_id=6034 Racial Survivor draws flak]