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SUNSET BAY--It's a gorgeous late summer day on the shore of Lake Erie.
As a Buffalo Bills' game is on television, the sun is bright, the air is warm, and wispy clouds fill the blue sky.
This is the kind of day that postcards are made of. It's that much fun.
It's a bit windy though. So much so that whitecaps break a ways off shore.
If the water were significantly rougher, and you were of a mind to swim out even a short distance, wearing a life jacket--just in case, mind you--wouldn't be the dumbest idea you've ever had.
Yes, Lake Erie can have rip currents.
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Meet Joseph Hernandez, who came to the Lake Erie shore on Sept. 13 and understands rough waters and rip currents in more ways than one:
● First, he was born in Cuba, where,
● Second, his father was a political prisoner of President Fidel Castro. He recalls that five of his father's cellmates died while two survived.
● Third, when he was 7, he and his family came to the United States in a storm on a fishing boat crammed with refugees. He recalls that the waters were so rough that his mother--showing her love--held her youngsters close. And some passengers became sea sick, with the predictable result being upset stomachs.
The family--including the former political prisoner in Cuba--settled in south Florida, started over, and got momentum in life, he said.
Hernandez professes his and his family's love for this country. He particularly recalls his father's devotion to the United States. Like many Americans, he and his family didn't have a lot but didn't know what they didn't have.
He calls himself a proud product of Florida public schools. He later earned a bachelor's degree in neuroscience; a master's degree in molecular genetics and microbiology; a master's degree in business administration, particularly finance and entrepreneurship, from the University of Florida; plus master's degrees in chronic-disease epidemiology and biostatistics from Yale University and global-healthcare leadership at the University of Oxford.
According to https://www.hernandezforny.com, he then worked "in Silicon Valley, where he oversaw the launch of a dozen groundbreaking diagnostic technologies." He "founded, invested in, and led more than a dozen biotechnology, healthcare, and technology companies." The father of three is the founder and now senior-managing partner of Blue Water Venture Partners LLC, "where he continues to invest in innovations that improve public health, accelerate scientific discovery, and address critical human diseases."
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Hernandez, who moved to New York in 2010-11, came from communism, so he says he understands socialism's dangers, government overreach, plus two-hour lines and coupon books for food.
Perhaps as if the rough waters and rip currents he endured as a young child weren't enough, he's running for New York state comptroller.
Why? It's a debt he owes to America, he said. He believes in having citizen politicians, not just politicians who have never had private-sector jobs.
He seeks to bring discipline to government spending in New York.
If New York were a country, it would have the 13th greatest spending, he said. Plus, New York is adding more debt and vilifying those who pay the taxes. "We're in a bad trajectory."
He also seeks to be comptroller to go after fraud and abuse in state government, and use the state-pension system to foster economic growth.
Hernandez is bright, approachable, and personable.
He has a big fan in Sunset Bay resident George Borrello, who said with a smile yet in all seriousness, "If you were going to hire someone for this job, he's as overqualified as you get."
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The Manhattan resident is on the Republican and Conservative lines on the November ballot.
If you'd like to hear more, the good news is that Hernandez is the guest speaker at the Chautauqua County Conservative Party's annual dinner on Oct. 29 at the White Inn in Fredonia, said Anna Wilcox, committee chair. Cocktails are at 6 p.m., with dinner is at 7 p.m.
To his credit, Hernandez hasn't been shy about spending serious time in counties such as Chautauqua.
That's crucial for statewide Republican-Conservative candidates. To prevail, they must not only win such counties but win them overwhelmingly with a big turnout. To do this, they must show up, and not only--repeat, only--during, for example, a whistle-stop tour of all Southern Tier counties on a single autumn day.
In all likelihood, that wouldn't suffice.
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Dr. Randy Elf, who sought the Republican and Conservative nominations for attorney general in 2018, has been to communist-governed countries, including the former Soviet Union, but not Cuba.
COPYRIGHT © 2026 BY RANDY ELF