Joel Rivera (born October 24, 1978) is an American politician who served as a member and the

majority leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

. First elected to the Council in a special election in 2001 at 22 years of age, Rivera became the youngest elected official in the city's history. He continued to win re-election until reaching his legal

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

in 2013.

Early life and education

Rivera was born to Ivine Galarza and Jose Rivera. He graduated from the

New York Military Academy New York Military Academy (NYMA) is a college preparatory, co-ed boarding school in the rural town of Cornwall, north of New York City, and one of the oldest military schools in the United States. Originally a boys' school, it started admitting ...

, a private boarding school, and went on to attend

Iona College Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

, and

Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates und ...

Career

Rivera succeeded his father, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, as the New York City Councilmember for

District 15 District 15 or 15th district can refer to: U.S. political districts Federal level * Illinois's 15th congressional district * Michigan's 15th congressional district * Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district * Ohio's 15th congressional district S ...

in 2001. He became

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

of the City Council the following year. As chair of the Health Committee, he helped to ban trans fat and mandate calorie labeling in New York City fast food restaurants, and launched an Obesity Prevention Initiative, which funded the HealthCorps program in local schools. Rivera is also the founder o
BronxPad
a website dedicated to "Helping Home Buyers and Home Sellers Achieve their Real Estate Goals." In September 2007, he was named one of ''

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

s "40 under 40" for being a young influential member of New York City politics.

Personal life

Rivera married Joyce Lee Hernandez Lopez in 2016 and they have three children together. Rivera was married previously married to Valerie Vazquez. The couple has a daughter, Sophia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Joel 1978 births Living people American politicians of Puerto Rican descent New York City Council members Hispanic and Latino American New York City Council members New York (state) Democrats Place of birth missing (living people) Politicians from the Bronx