Gustavo Rivera (politician)

Background

Rivera was born and raised in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. He received a B.A. in political science from the University of Puerto Rico in May 1998. Following graduation, Rivera moved to New York to begin a doctoral program in political science at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He taught courses at Hunter College until 2002, and served as an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Pace University until his first election in 2010.

Rivera has served in politics by serving as campaign manager for politicians such as Phil Reed and his future colleagues Jose M. Serrano and Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

In September 2010, he was named one of *City Hall'''s "40 under 40" for being a young influential member of New York City politics.

As of 2024, Rivera was single and resided in University Heights.

New York Senate

After serving as Director of Outreach under United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Rivera decided to run for the New York State Senate in 2010. The incumbent, Senator Pedro Espada Jr., had long been a staple in Bronx politics. Espada was considered the favorite throughout the election. After a hard fought campaign, Rivera ultimately defeated Espada in the Democratic primary. Espada would later be convicted of embezzlement.

In the Senate, Rivera is known as a leading progressive voice. With the Democrats retaking the majority in 2018, Rivera was named Chair of the Senate Health Committee. Rivera has advocated for the New York Health Act.

References

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|access-date= March 13, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111017140552/http://nycapitolnews.com/wordpress/2011/01/legislative-preview-meet-the-new-members/ |archive-date= October 17, 2011 |url-status= dead

References

1. Rivera, Gustavo. "Without the Federal Government But With New York, Puerto Rico Endures".
2. Postmaster. (2017-10-11). ""We need to do something""Necesitamos hacer algo"".
3. Khurshid, Samar. "State Senator Calls for Investigation of Opponent's Campaign Finances".
4. [http://www.cityandstateny.com/rising-stars-40-under-40-2/ Rising Stars 40 Under 40: Gustavo Rivera] {{webarchive. link. (2013-01-01 , ''City & State'', September 28, 2010.)
5. KAPPSTATTER, BOB. "Democratic heavyweights Pedro Espada, Gustavo Rivera lace up gloves in bitter Bronx election battle - NY Daily News".
6. Rizzo, Nick. (January 2020). "An Espada-slayer and his outside army go to battle in the Bronx".
7. "Pedro Espada's new ad in state Senate race calls Gustavo Rivera a puppet".
8. King, David. "The Man Who Beat Espada".
9. Secret, Mosi. (2012-05-14). "Ex-Senator Espada Guilty of Embezzling From Soundview Health Network". The New York Times.
10. (2010-08-17). "Gustavo Rivera Picks Up Nine Progressive Electeds".
11. "Rivera: New Version of Single Payer Bill Coming in January".