When the conversation winds down , their mother offers the group some iced tea . Rivera is the first to accept , and she urges others to take some , too . The women then head outside for a group photo . The little boys stand off to the side but Rivera gives them a quick , “ Venga ,” come over , and they clasp hands with their mayor for a picture , too .
They might not have known her before , but now , on a shed around the corner and throughout their home city , they ’ ll recognize the woman who held their hands as they prepared to return to school — and , if she has it her way , leads them toward a brighter future , too .
RIVERA , FORTY-FOUR , NEVER INDENDED TO get into politics . Her mother , who left school by the eighth grade , only asked that her five daughters earn their high school diplomas . The middle child , Rivera credits her stepfather for teaching her to aspire to more .
“ He was the only person who never judged me ,” says Rivera , stifling tears . “ Even something as simple as driving . My mom didn ’ t want me to drive . I ’ ll never forget the day he said to me , ‘ Just take the car . Don ’ t tell your mom .’ ”
He died in 2013 , before she entered public service , but she keeps his portrait on a wall overlooking her desk in city hall .
Rivera was born in New Jersey and spent the first eleven years of her life in Chicago . Raised in a Spanish-speaking household , Rivera was enrolled in English language classes when she started school . But 1980s Chicago was a violent place , so the family followed a relative to Rhode Island “ more for safety reasons ,” she says . “ It ’ s a huge difference from where we lived .”
Rivera attended public school in Central Falls for five years , where she met her best friend , Jahaira Rodriguez .
“ We were just two little girls living in the same community ,” says Rodriguez , who served as an investigator for the parole board before Rivera tapped her as Central Falls ’ city clerk . “ We just clicked , but we ’ re opposites . I was that young girl who was impulsive and could say , ‘ I don ’ t want to go to school today ,’ and she would be like , ‘ No , we ’ re going to school .’ She was driven and I was , too , but not to the extent she was . That ’ s why she ’ s mayor .”
Rodriguez remembers when the state assumed control of Central Falls schools in 1992 , the first district-requested takeover in the nation . She was a sophomore , and it was a long year of cold lunches and winter coats in class .
“ What a challenge ,” Rodriguez says . “ I remember feeling alone and the uncertainty over what was happening .”
That year , Rivera ’ s family moved to Puerto Rico to help care for an ill family member . There , she continued high school and got her first taste of the electoral process .
“ My stepfather loved politics and he loved elections in Puerto Rico ,” remembers Rivera , who says she was drawn to the celebrations . “ I would go with him every time there was an election , just to support the candidate that he was supporting .”
But after three years in Puerto Rico , the family returned to Central Falls , where Rivera reunited with Rodriguez and finished high school . Unsure of what to do next , she split her time between Sunshine Market in Central Falls , CVS Pharmacy and the Christmas Tree Shop .
“ There was no one who was telling me to go to college , but after working three jobs that first year , I needed to get myself in school ,” Rivera says .
She enrolled at the Community College of Rhode Island and worked at the same time , eventually earning an associate ’ s degree with a concentration in legal administrative assistance . After graduation , she worked for a spell at a bank , then landed a job in outreach for the state-run Higher Education Assistance Authority . She started a family with her then-husband — most of her wedding decorations came courtesy of her Christmas Tree Shop discount — and raised a boy and a girl in a multifamily they bought in 2003 , where Rivera still lives with her kids and her mother .
In 2004 , she moved on to the state Department of Human Services as an eligibility technician connecting vulnerable Rhode Islanders with social services , including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program . She says she enjoyed helping others and wanted to find a way to do it on a broader scale . So , in 2014 , she signed up for the Rhode Island Latina Leadership Institute ( LLI ), a nine-month leadership incubator supported by the Rhode Island Latino Civic Fund . Zuleyma Gomez met Rivera through LLI , where they served in the same cohort .
“ She was kind of quiet and reserved and finding her voice at the time ,” says Gomez , who now serves as the mayor ’ s chief of staff .
Gomez , who also grew up in Central Falls and worked for former Central Falls Mayor James Diossa and Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea , remembers watching Rivera break out of her shell over the course of the program , eventually serving as a fundraiser master of ceremonies . “ She did a phenomenal job ,” says Gomez . “ She was a great speaker .” Almost immediately , Rivera says , her contacts in Central Falls began asking her to run for public office in the city , which had weathered a federal fraud scandal involving its former mayor , Charles Moreau , and was clawing its way out of bankruptcy under the leadership of Diossa , the youngest mayor in the state ’ s history .
“ I kept saying I ’ m not ready ,” says Rivera . “ The response was always : You ’ re never going to be ready . You just have to do it .”
In 2016 , she launched her bid for city councilor at large . Amid the campaign — one she couldn ’ t lose ; she and another candidate were running for two vacant seats — the working single mom of two teenagers also re-enrolled in college at Roger Williams University . She ’ d earn her degree in public administration three years later .
Remembering those first days on the council , Rivera says , “ I was freaking out . I took those first two years just to listen and understand what being on the council was about , understand the budget process and just take it all in . But at the same time , I continued to stay really engaged out in the community .”
Her focus at the outset , she says , was quality of life for the residents of Central Falls . She says she relied on her constituents to convey the city ’ s greatest needs — affordable housing , a new high school — and , by 2019 , her reputation earned her the president ’ s seat on city council . But sometimes she had to take positions on contentious subjects , and her opinions haven ’ t always been popular .
IN JANUARY OF 2019 , THE SUNDAY BEFORE HER FIRST meeting as city council president , Rivera had an unusual religious experience .
" I got a call from someone with the Catholic church , who said to me , ‘ You can ’ t do this ; you need to remove this from your agenda ,’ ” recalls Rivera . She was planning to introduce a resolution in support of the Rhode
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