Ben Fernandez

File:Ben Fernandez.jpg

Ben Fernandez (February 24, 1925 - April 25, 2000) was an American politician, financial consultant, World War II veteran, special ambassador, and America's first major-party presidential contender of Hispanic origin.

The candidacy of Fernandez was publicized again in light of comments from Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson, a candidate in the 2008 presidential election, who claimed that he was the first ever Hispanic candidate. A reporter for the Albuquerque Journal discovered Fernandez's failed campaigns in 1980 and 1984, proving Richardson's comments to be a mistake. (Richardson campaign officials said that they were looking only at previous Democratic Party candidates.)

Early life

Benjamin Fernandez was born in Kansas City, Kansas in a converted railroad boxcar. During his political career he was fondly nicknamed "Boxcar Ben". Fernandez was one of seven brothers and sisters. His parents were illiterate Mexican immigrant farm workers who were in the country illegally. The entire family worked as migrant farm workers in Michigan and Indiana, refusing government assistance.

Fernandez enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and served in the military for three years. After his tour of duty, he landed in California with only $20 and his G.I. benefits. Fernandez enrolled at the University of Redlands in Redlands, California and found a job at the local YMCA as a dishwasher and waiter. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.

Career

Upon graduating from Redlands, Fernandez moved to New York City. He worked at General Electric during the day and attended night school at the Graduate School of Business of New York University.

He received a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Foreign Trade and Marketing. In addition he completed all of the course work for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Economics, Marketing, Corporate Finance, Foreign Trade and Financial History. Fernandez completed the four year course work in two years.

General Electric recruited him for its financial management training program. Following his employment and training with General Electric, he was appointed Director of Marketing Research at the O. A. Sutton Corporation of Wichita, Kansas.

After three years at the post he moved to Los Angeles, California, and became a consulting economist, specializing in the organization of savings and loan associations and commercial banks.

His work as a financial consultant gained national attention. From 1960 through 1976, Fernandez was asked to testify over 500 times under oath before federal and state agencies on his specialties.

He also received national acclaim for his innovation in business and was recognized by the United States Department of Commerce for his work with the National Economic Development Association (NEDA), a non-profit corporation Fernandez founded to foster the free enterprise system among Spanish-speaking Americans. NEDA was responsible for over $2 billion in private sector loans, with a default factor of less than two percent.

Through his various business ventures Ben Fernandez became a millionaire.

Political involvement

File:Ben Fernandez Nixon.jpg

Fernandez was very active within Republican circles and served in multiple political positions throughout the Nixon and Reagan administrations. In 1972 he served as a fundraiser for President Nixon, chairing the Hispanic Finance Committee to Re-elect the President and as National Co-Chairman of the Finance Committee to Re-Elect the President. President Nixon later named Fernandez to the President's Council for Minority Enterprise. After Fernandez's fundraising for Nixon led to accusations that he promised government favors in return for campaign contributions, Fernandez appeared before the Senate Watergate Committee on November 8, 1973, to deny allegations of wrongdoing.

In August of 1973, President Nixon appointed Fernandez as Special Ambassador to the Republic of Paraguay to represent the United States at the inauguration of the President of Paraguay. While there, he addressed the banking and savings and loan industries. Fernandez also served as a member of the executive council of the Republican National Committee in 1976.

Fernandez was an early and adamant supporter of Hispanic involvement within the GOP. In 1967 Fernandez was one of five World War II veterans who came together in Washington, D.C. to discuss Hispanic involvement in American Politics. Together with Manuel Lujan of New Mexico; Fernando “Benji” Oaxaca of California; Martin Castillo of California and Francisco M. Vega of Michigan, Fernandez went on to start the Republican National Hispanic Council. Fernandez was elected as the group’s first national chairman. The group would later change its name to the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, and became an official branch of the Republican National Committee under the leadership of then-RNC Chairman George H.W. Bush.

When a reporter asked him why he was a Republican, Fernandez recalled a story from his college days in California when someone told him that the Republican Party was the party of rich people. "Sign me up!" Fernandez replied. "I've had enough of poverty." Fernandez stated that Hispanic voters presented a "golden opportunity for the GOP," and that the Republican Party was "truly the party of the open door." He was persistent in stating that the party could reap huge benefits by embracing the fast growing Hispanic minority in the United States, claiming that Hispanics were "natural Republicans" because they have a "centuries-old suspicion of oppressive central governments" and "learned fiscal conservatism at the knees of their mothers, who assured them that if they didn't watch their nickels they wouldn't eat."

The Palm Beach Post/Miami News, July 15, 1980

The Palm Beach Post/Miami News, July 15, 1980

In 1978, Fernandez announced his candidacy for the Republican party's nomination for President. He was the first major-party presidential contender of Hispanic origin. Running in a crowded primary field in 1980, he appeared on the ballot in 18 primaries. He received 25,520 votes nationally, enough to win three delegates at the Republican nominating convention.

After Fernandez ended his primary bid and spoke at the 1980 Republican Convention in support of Ronald Reagan, President-Elect Reagan appointed Fernandez to his transition team as his senior small business adviser. Fernandez also welcomed Reagan to Texas during his general election campaign, helping him make the pitch for the sought after Mexican-American vote.

In 1984 Fernandez attempted a second run for the Presidency, but was unsuccessful. In that year, he basically kept to the New Hampshire primary, along with perennial candidate Harold Stassen. Each received around one percent of the vote. Fernandez ran a campaign on a similar scale in 1988, largely ceremonially.

Later years

The father of three grown daughters, Ben Fernandez remarried later in life to Jacqueline Coon and they lived in Calabasas, California. Fernandez resided in Las Vegas, Nevada until his death. He continued his work professionally and politically even after his retirement, often traveling throughout the country as a consulting economist. In 2000 he served on the McCain Presidential Finance Committee, his last political involvement before his death.

External links

• Republican National Hispanic Assembly web site