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IN HONOR OF MR. DAN RIVERA OF LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS
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HON. LORI TRAHAN
of massachusetts
in the house of representatives
Monday, January 11, 2021
Mrs. TRAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the leadership and legacy of a great leader and friend, Mayor Daniel ``Dan'' Rivera, who will retire as the 59th Mayor of the City of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Mayor Dan Rivera is leaving his second four-year term in office early to become the President and CEO of MassDevelopment; the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' finance and economic development agency.
Mayor Rivera was born in New York City to a single mother who emigrated from the Dominican Republic in search of a better life for her family. His mother moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts to find work as a seamstress in the area's mills, and it was in Lawrence that Mayor Rivera was raised and began his career as a public servant.
After graduating from Lawrence High School, Mayor Rivera enlisted in the United States Army and became a Military Police Officer, serving in Germany, Iraq, and Kuwait. After his multiple tours overseas, Mayor Rivera returned home to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Indeed, he became the first person in his family to graduate from college--something that he and I have in common.
Prior to being elected as the City's mayor, he worked tirelessly to improve the growth and economic development of the Merrimack Valley for its residents. As an economic development director for Congressman Marty Meehan, Mayor Rivera continued to bring critical investments to his hometown and communities across the Merrimack Valley.
Not long after, he was elected to the Lawrence City Council where he served as the Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee. He provided key leadership in adjusting the City's budget in order to restore key services and personnel. Then-Councilor Rivera worked to diversify the Lawrence Police Department by making it a majority-minority department with 53% of the officers making up individuals of color and tripling the number of women on the force, more accurately representing the people of Lawrence.
In 2013, he was elected as the City's mayor. Over the last seven years, he has led Lawrence through two major crises--the 2018 Merrimack Valley natural gas explosions and the COVID-19 pandemic. Time and again, he has demonstrated his leadership and dedication to the residents of the great City of Lawrence.
The Merrimack Valley gas explosions forced thousands of families to flee the area, damaged and destroyed dozens of homes, left many businesses with considerable financial losses, and tragically took a young man's life. Throughout that period, Mayor Rivera led with purpose and empathy in every decision he made to get the City on the path of recovery, while fighting to ensure the community received all necessary support and resources. He has been a close ally as we successfully advanced the Leonel Rondon Pipeline Safety Act. This legislation will ensure no community ever faces a disaster like this one again, becoming law in December of 2020.
Just as the City of Lawrence was recovering from the natural gas explosions, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Lawrence has been among the hardest hit communities in the Commonwealth by the pandemic, disproportionately impacting its large population of Black and brown residents. With the utmost transparency in communication, Mayor Rivera consistently urged the community to maintain social distance, enacted a city-wide eviction moratorium to protect renters, created two Emergency Small Business Relief Programs designed to help the Lawrence businesses and immigrant entrepreneur communities as they work to get back on their feet, and diligently collaborated with the State and Federal governments to set up testing sites around the city.
Mayor Rivera's leadership and hard work has been recognized by various organizations. He was awarded Masslnc.'s Mayor Bill Carpenter Award for Excellence in Gateway City Leadership in 2020, and in 2018 was recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential People of Color in Greater Boston by Get Konnected.
Through his many years of service, Mayor Rivera has made the City of Lawrence a better place to call home. Thanks to his efforts, the City's future is bright, and I join Lawrence residents in thanking him for his dedication to this incredible community.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 6
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