State Sen. Gustavo Rivera reflects on political journey and health-care mission shead of election
State Sen. Gustavo Rivera, up for re-election in the 33rd District this November, never intended to enter politics, but told The Press he’s glad he did.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Rivera moved to New York in 1988 to pursue a PhD in political science at the CUNY Graduate Center, where he is technically still enrolled.
While teaching college for a few years, he said his students would suggest he run for office, but Rivera repeatedly declined, believing a public life wasn’t for him.
That changed in 2010, when a candidate Rivera hoped to see in office decided not to run, and suddenly his students’ advice started to resonate.
Before becoming a state senator, Rivera worked within the institution, where he recognized the critical need for Democrats to secure a majority — which, Rivera credits to the Obama wave, happened in 2008.
However, the very slim majority soon crumbled when two Democratic senators defected to the Republicans in 2009, leading to what Rivera called a “horrendous breakdown”. This instability created the conditions for his predecessor, Pedro Espada, to take office.
After being defeated by Rivera, Espada would go on to serve six years in federal prison for stealing funds from a Medicaid clinic he owned in the South Bronx. The senator preceding Espada had served three years. The senator before this senator had served one year for fraud.
The idea that these elected officials, who were meant to represent 300,000 working class people, mostly people of color, who looked to their government for support and were instead being disrespected and financially stolen was a deeply painful reality to Rivera.
So by 2010, “that’s the reason I ultimately ran,” Rivera said. His mission in running was to be “the opposite of [Espada and his predecessors] in every single way, and that means being present for [the constituents.]”
Though there are parts of the job, Rivera said, he will never like, they are far outweighed by the parts of the job he loves. A natural introvert, he said it was initially very difficult to acclimate into a lifestyle where the only true privacy he has is at home.
Rivera refers to himself as a “public servant” opposed to a “politician” — the difference to him being that a politician is often used in the pejorative whereas a public servant is exactly what it says on the tin.
The three senators before Rivera were “politicians” in Rivera’s mind, and so the distinction felt important to make.
“After 15 years, I think I’ve demonstrated that this is not just a messaging point or marketing tool, but it’s actually who I am.”
Rivera’s work, as the chair of the Senate health committee, has mainly revolved around securing better healthcare and health access for all New Yorkers. This is particularly relevant in the Bronx, which has consistently placed last for healthiness, ranking 62 of 62 counties in the state of New York.
Rivera pointed out that though he does not have term limits, there will come a time when he would like to pass the baton to someone else, ideally a Latina woman.
It’s not her time quite yet, though — Rivera still has work to do. In particular, he would really like to pass the New York Health Act. Once this is implemented in New York State, Rivera said, “we will demonstrate we can have health care as a human right.”
By transforming healthcare delivery in one of “the biggest and most complicated states”, Rivera believes this would serve as proof of concept it could be done in the rest of the country.
“And this moment would fundamentally change the lives of millions of New Yorkers, and ultimately, millions of Americans.” Rivera said. “And as I’ve told many people, that is the hill I will die on.”
Election Day is Nov. 5.
Keywords
Gustavo Rivera re-election, 33rd District, New York State Senate, healthcare reform, Bronx health, New York Health Act, public service, Election Day November 5, 2024
