careers/action/example :: New York City Council Majority Leader - An Interview with Joel Rivera

by Jason Strother

Joel Rivera was elected to the New York City Council in February of 2001 during a special election to fill the seat of an official whose term limit had expired. The son of New York State Assemblyman Jose Rivera, Joel did have some name recognition to help support his bid for office. He began to represent the Bronx’s 15th district, the same community in which had grown up. But what makes Councilman Rivera’s political career particularly interesting? One could argue that it’s the fact that only one year after taking office, he was unanimously selected by his Democratic colleagues to become the City Council’s Majority Leader. Or that he was instrumental in bringing 30 million dollars into the Bronx to help reduce overcrowding in public schools. But probably the most impressive part of Rivera’s career as Councilman is that it all began when he was only 22 years old.

1-42 sat down with Joel to learn more about NYC’s youngest Majority Leader in history as well as hear his views on how other politically oriented 20-something year- olds can have their ideals represented by their government.

1-42 :: What was it that first sparked your interest in politics?

Rivera :: Started at a very young age, my father and mother were both politically involved in the grass roots organizations in the Bronx. I grew up with that mindset of getting organized with your community. Children, when they see their parents doing things that are beneficial, sometimes they want to do the same thing.

And through his teens Joel stayed active in both local and national Democratic campaigns. This included working on the campaign of President Clinton in 1992 as well as accompanying the City Council on a trip to Israel to tour orphanages. After Joel took office in 2002, he was met with criticism, but it didn’t take long for his action on the Council floor to speak for itself.

Rivera :: Everybody said, how you gonna send a young kid down to city hall to negotiate with the speaker and the mayor for our community and for the larger city as a whole. A year later, at the age of 23, I became the Majority Leader of the City Council.

And as Majority Leader, that makes Joel the third most powerful elected official in New York City, right under Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Gifford Miller.

Rivera :: I’m nothing special, I am the same as everybody else my age, but I have a vision.

And when 1-42 met with Mr. Rivera to talk about his work as City Councilman, his “vision” of a better NYC strongly involved the creation of youth programs, day care centers and other social resources for children. It’s no coincidence that in the beginning of this year, the Mayor put five Bronx institutions on his list of the city’s twelve most dangerous schools. For Joel, keeping kids out of trouble means giving them alternatives to turn to.

Rivera :: We use a lot of our children to gang violence, they’re just not given an opportunity. I think it’s my role, being that I’m so young, to really focus on a lot of the programs that help to empower our youth, educate them, give them an opportunity….

And perhaps what further influences Joel to put providing youths with better social and educational opportunities at the top of his agenda is that the he is still a student himself. In between signing budgets and formulating policy, Joel manages to attend Baruch College in Manhattan, where he is studying public administration and minoring in business.

1-42 :: Do you run into problems being an elected official and trying to relate to your classmates?

Rivera :: Lots of people, they see me dressed in a suit and tie, they say “You going to work after this?” Where do you work at?”, I’m, hesitant, I don’t want to tell you right away what I do, I’m not gonna lie, I say “I work at City Hall”, they say, “Oh, you’re an intern?” I say, “Yeah, I do internships”, but then it comes down to it, <they say> “Wow, how’d you do that?” I say “hard work.”

1-42 :: Do you think balancing a full time job as Council Majority Leader and attending college is a bit difficult?

Rivera :: I have a lot of female friends that are mothers… and they work and they go to school. To me that’s a tougher job than what I do. Taking care of a child, working full time, going to school trying to enrich yourself - that is a much tougher job… If they can do that, I can definitely do this.

1-42 :: What advice can you give to college students, college grads or other young people who are looking to take a more active role in politics?

Rivera :: Get involved. The way you do it is find out all the issues that effect your community. If crime is high, and you don’t see the police department doing their job, go to the precinct. Make your voice heard, go to the community board meetings. Get involved politically, whatever your views are, identify who you are and try to get your message out.

This is not a job, this is a passion. To me, this is advocacy - a mission. I have a goal, and that goal is to really try to make change. That’s what you have to do. You can get involved politically in many ways, you can run for office, or you can get involved with the campaigns. You can get involved with advocacy, which I think is one of the best ways because it’s a way to make change with the elected officials and to set the agenda. Find out what the issues are and get involved.

In talking about the role that the 20-something demographic plays in the election process, Joel points to one trend that he feels works against his generation.

Rivera :: We get ignored because we don’t vote. City, state and federal government - the executives look at where they get their votes from. They want to get re-elected. (Politicians) ignore the youth programs because they (the youth) don’t vote, (the politicians) raise tuition for higher education, because they (the youth) don’t vote.

1-42 :: What are the traits someone needs to have in order to succeed in politics?

Rivera :: You have to be energetic, willing to wake up earlier… and go to sleep later. This is not a nine-to-five. You have to be willing to put in 110 percent of who you are. Being a politician is not for everybody but everybody should be involved in politics. You have to have a vision of what you want to see done. You have to have motivation. You have to know that everything the government does affects your every way of life. So you should ultimately be involved with how government works.

And if there were a way to start-off your day that could make you become more active in public policy, Joel left 1-42 with his best description of such an agenda.

Rivera :: Wake up in the morning and find out what’s going on in your neighborhood. Pick up the local paper, and see if there’s an issue not being addressed. And then find out why its not being addressed. This is your city, this is your state, this is your country. You have every right to make sure the government is representing your ideals.

2004 1-42 Online