“ My communications person would ’ ve told me , ‘ You cannot engage in this . You cannot comment ,’ ” Rivera says , wryly amused . “ But I think that ’ s why people respect me : Because I am honest . Yes , I wanted to respond , though I ’ m not sure it made a difference .”
Come election day , she ’ d earn 77 percent . She was sworn into office in two ceremonies on January 4 th .
Marcela Betancur , executive director of the Latino Policy Institute , credits Rivera for making immediate , productive use of her mayorship to address issues including affordable housing and education . She notes the mayor ’ s support of the school district initiative , Voces con Poder , where student and parent delegates chose how to spend $ 100,000 of federal relief funding . In August , they selected extracurricular programming .
“ She has community meetings that look like regular family and friend engagement meetings ,” Betancur says . “ It creates this trust in her and government that doesn ’ t always exist in immigrant communities .”
Betancur , who grew up in Central Falls , also lauds the mayor for a rebranding campaign that changed the city ’ s tagline . In the years following its bankruptcy , Central Falls was known as “ The Comeback City .” In September , a committee revealed the new slogan , “ Diversity That Inspires ,” which celebrates its strengths , she says .
“ We have been very fortunate to have Latino mayors in our state that really care and are part of their communities . But , from day one , she made bold moves ,” Betancur says . “ Coming in during COVID as a new mayor of a city that was devastated — I wouldn ’ t wish that job on anyone . But she came in with guns blazing .”
ON A GRAY EARLY AFTERNOON IN LATEsummer , Rivera and her chief of staff , Zuleyma Gomez , slide out of Rivera ’ s city-issued black SUV and , shielding their faces from the drizzle , stride into Craft Burgers and Beer in Pawtucket . They ’ re fifteen minutes early for a lunch with Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien , with whom Rivera meets monthly to discuss issues relevant to the neighboring cities .
“ I hate being late ,” Rivera says , her voice faltering as she slips into a booth in a dark corner of the restaurant . About four months into her mayorship , Rivera began losing her voice . Doctors have prescribed several medications , but the issue persists .
A server arrives and Rivera orders a water to sip while she recounts the takeaways of a recent housing report , which came on the back of the city ’ s first housing summit . The one-square-mile community , where 80 percent of residents rent , has a dearth of affordable housing and doesn ’ t qualify for 2016 bond dollars through the state . Rivera says she has more than a dozen shovel-ready sites , but she doesn ’ t have the acquisition funding to build . More than 100 people are at risk of losing their Section 8 housing vouchers because they can ’ t find apartments in the city , she says .
At the same time , she ’ s lobbying hard for a new high school . The state retains fiscal control of the district but the city owns the ninety-fouryear-old building , which Rivera says was failing when she graduated two-and-a-half decades ago . ( In response to a reporter ’ s query , Rivera ’ s former social studies teacher , Ronald Thompson , could not comment on her class performance ; the self-described hoarder lost many of his records when the roof collapsed a few years ago .) She ’ s a month from the first project deadline and , at the same time , her team is preparing talking points to fund the school with a $ 2.88 million bond proposal , which voters will consider on a special election ballot in November . The bond covers 2 percent of the $ 144 million tab ; the state would pick up the rest , which includes funding to improve other district infrastructure , as well .
“ At this point , we ’ re all failing our kids ,” Rivera says . “ If our kids continue to fail , it ’ s also my fault .”
Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien enters the restaurant alone , buoyant but without fanfare . With twenty-two years in public service to Rivera ’ s five , Grebien is a seasoned Rhode Island politician . He greets the women and the server , from whom he orders a side salad topped with a chicken patty . Rivera orders a chicken Caesar salad and Gomez gets fish and chips .
Grebien expresses envy that Gomez can order such a meal and maintain her figure . He explains he ’ s on a nutritional program through the Miriam Hospital . But the day before , the city launched a contentious license plate reader pilot ; it wasn ’ t a great day for his diet . “ I ’ m a stress eater so , last night , I was just crunching ,” he says . Grebien steers the conversation toward the political firestorm of the week in Central Falls , which erupted following a press conference announcing the city ’ s first tennis courts , gold shovel props and all . The courts , which are grant-funded and were negotiated by Rivera ’ s predecessor , would replace one of the city ’ s basketball courts . The news sparked outcry among residents .
“ If I can overcome hiring a new police chief , I can overcome anything ,” Rivera says , recalling when she replaced Daniel Barzykowski with Anthony Roberson , a former sergeant in Providence with expertise in community policing . Rumors abounded that Rivera and Roberson were dating but Rivera , who has been divorced for twelve years , says they are not . ( Rivera says she ’ s not seeing anyone ; if she was , she adds , “ this person would be frustrated with me , because he would not be a priority .”)
“ I saw on social about the nonviolence training , so that ’ s some good PR ,” says Grebien , referencing how her police department was the first in the state to complete training from the Providence-based Nonviolence Institute , which led programming for youth in both cities over the summer .
Rivera shifts in her seat and replies , “ I think it ’ s good for my community . We have a lot of people of color here so it ’ s a step up for us .”
The food arrives and Grebien teases Gomez some more about her fish and chips as Rivera pushes aside supersized croutons from her salad . Grebien tells her he ’ s headed to Narragansett for the week to borrow a friend ’ s beach house . His staff knows how to reach him , he says , but he ’ s more or less off all week . Rivera says she recently visited a friend in Pomfret , Connecticut , but worked the entire weekend . Her time off usually involves sitting in a friend ’ s backyard for hours , decompressing .
Rivera ’ s phone rings ; her daughter , Daniela , is FaceTiming her with news of her first paycheck from her job at Saver ’ s in Attleboro . Daniela , who just graduated from Blackstone Valley Prep High School and has declared herself the first lady of Central Falls , is headed to the Community College of Rhode Island to study business . The college just issued COVID-19 vaccine mandates for students ; Grebien mentions his son will need to | | CONTINUED ON PAGE 98
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