A passion for policy: Michelle Rivera wants to be State Senator in District 1

"I've seen firsthand the devastation that inflation and poverty have on our families and communities, which is why I want to repeal the tax cuts for the rich..."

Jul 11, 2023

With all the talk about the Congressional District One special election, we might forget that there’s also a special election taking place in State Senate District One to replace Maryellen Goodwin, who passed away earlier this year. A field of candidates is shaping up that at last count includes State Representative Nathan Biah (Democrat, District 3, Providence); political newcomer Michelle Rivera; Mario Mancebo, who has twice run for state Senate; and Niyoka Powell, second vice chair of the Rhode Island Republican Party.

See all my Senate District 1 Special Election interviews here:

These candidates all being somewhat known in political circles, I was interested in doing my first interview in this race with Michelle Rivera, who is newer to the world of Rhode Island politics. We met at the Dunkin Donuts on Smith Street in Providence, not too far from the State House. The interview has been edited for clarity.

Steve Ahlquist: Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Michelle Rivera: I was born in Puerto Rico. I grew up in poverty and faced homelessness as a teen. I signed up to serve in the military at 17 years old. I served overseas in Afghanistan. After that, I came back to Rhode Island. I went to CCRI and Rhode Island College to get my master's in social work. I've done internships in dual-language elementary schools as a social worker. I've worked at the Providence VA Medical Center as a social worker. And for the past year, I've been working as a policy director at Progreso Latino.

Steve Ahlquist: That's quite a resume. What makes you want to be a state senator?

Michelle Rivera: I see how policy decisions trickle down and affect the community. Poverty and the cost of living is a huge issue right now in the community. I've been through that and I want to make a change. I feel the community deserves someone who's going to fight for them and make the changes they need to combat poverty.

Steve Ahlquist: What is your community in Senate District 1 like?

Michelle Rivera: There's a lot of variety and a lot of diversity. I've been walking the community, talking to my neighbors, and meeting a lot of great people. Some areas have concerns that are different than other areas. A lot of my neighbors are struggling to make ends meet and pay their bills. Utility rates are too high taxes or they're getting slammed with medical bills. For others, it's quality of life issues, such as trash, speed bumps, and crime. It's a wide variety.

Steve Ahlquist: Senate districts are big. Let me ask you a harder question. Why you and why this job?

Michelle Rivera: Because I understand the community. I see this job as a way for me to give back to and serve the community, and make positive changes to combat the issues that my neighbors are facing every day. I grew up in poverty. I'm still living in the Chad Brown area. I see it every day. I've advocated, I've been doing advocacy through Progreso Latino, and I see the need that is there.

Steve Ahlquist: This seat opened up because Maryellen Goodwin passed. Did you know her? How did you feel about the way she represented the community?

Michelle Rivera: I think Senator Goodwin did a lot of great things for the community. She was very well-loved. I go to the high rises and I hear great things about her, so many wonderful stories. I met her on multiple occasions. She would go to Chad Brown and give ice cream to the kids there, just giving back to the community. That stood out to me and was inspirational to see.

Steve Ahlquist: She was very influential in the Senate. This last Senate session without her seemed a little chaotic, a little bit less focused. I think a lot of that was because it didn't have Senator Goodwin at the helm, managing the flow of legislation. Without her, the Senate got a little bit underwater. She was a force.

You've never run for office before?

Michelle Rivera: I have not run for office before. I always knew that I would eventually, though.

Steve Ahlquist: Can you talk to me about that, about knowing you would run for office someday?

Michelle Rivera: In the School of Social Work, I chose the macro track, which deals with systems policy, as opposed to the clinical track. I was drawn to policy and research and I saw how these decisions trickled down and how there was a minority of people making decisions that had huge impacts. I saw the barriers that these policies created. I wanted to make change on a larger scale and I knew elected office would be a great way to do it. I love advocacy. I'm passionate about advocating and I care about my community.

Steve Ahlquist: Do you consider yourself a policy wonk?

Michelle Rivera: I try to read as much as I can about policy when I have the time.

Steve Ahlquist: I was a philosophy major in college and I read The Philosophical Foundations of Social Work by Frederic Reamer way back. I've always had a deep respect for the field of social work and for the ideas that underpin it.

Michelle Rivera: Advocacy and social justice is part of our social work ethics.

Steve Ahlquist: You talked a little bit about this, but what do you see as the biggest problems or opportunities facing both Senate District One and Rhode Island?

Michelle Rivera: I mentioned poverty. We need affordable housing. I'm hearing from the community that rent is becoming untenable for a lot of people. Making investments in affordable housing is important. Sadly, I'm coming across individuals who are just ridden with medical debt. It's really expensive to get sick. It can wipe out someone's entire savings and plunge them into debt. It's not fair. This is a policy issue. We need to invest more in Medicaid and increase reimbursement rates.

And to make these investments, I'd like to repeal the tax cuts on the rich because they received a huge tax cut in 2006 and 2010.

Steve Ahlquist: Taxing people in the state properly could go a long way toward helping people at the bottom.

Michelle Rivera: It would. We'd be able to make more investments in Medicaid, affordable housing, and our schools. Our schools are struggling.

Steve Ahlquist: What are your thoughts on guns and gun safety? What would you like to see happen?

Michelle Rivera: An assault weapon ban. I was in the military. I carried one. I've seen what they can do. We don't need them on our streets. The speed, the amount of destruction - we don't need those in the streets.

Steve Ahlquist: What do you see as the role of the State Senate in dealing with the issue of homelessness?

Michelle Rivera: It comes down to passing legislation that is going to increase the production of affordable housing and making those investments. Like I said, I went through homelessness as a teen after we lost my father. He was the sole income in the family. We moved from a shelter to a relative's house to a shelter. I don't believe anyone should have to experience homelessness. It's a policy choice. We need to make investments to prevent it.

Steve Ahlquist: As a child, that must have been extremely difficult.

Michelle Rivera: Moving a lot, or just being homeless, creates a sense of trauma,

Steve Ahlquist: How was that for your education?

Michelle Rivera: My education was disrupted. I went through three or four different high schools.

Steve Ahlquist: That's hard.

Michelle Rivera: But I got through it and it opened my eyes to a lot of things. I see now how homelessness affects people and how important it is to advocate for the homeless community.

Steve Ahlquist: Lived experience is so important. At the General Assembly right now, there are not many people who have your lived experience. I think your perspective would be pretty important.

Michelle Rivera: I have pretty interesting lived experience, yeah.

Steve Ahlquist: On women's rights and abortion. What are your thoughts on that?

Michelle Rivera: It's about healthcare. Women should have access to abortion and have a right to decide what they do with their bodies. It's that simple.

Steve Ahlquist: LGBTQ and trans rights are under attack nationwide - especially trans rights. What are your thoughts?

Michelle Rivera: We need to codify trans rights so there is no question about it.

Steve Ahlquist: There’s the related issue of book bans in school libraries.

Michelle Rivera: When you try to control that kind of thing, you get into gray areas - I'm not for book bans.

Steve Ahlquist: Is there a sense, when you're fighting for the country, when you're an enlisted person and you're overseas - Do you feel like you were protecting these rights and freedoms?

Michelle Rivera: Absolutely. I fought for these rights so people can have freedom of speech and religion. We deserve the rights in our constitution.

Steve Ahlquist: What are your thoughts on climate change?

Michelle Rivera: I believe in science. I believe that our planet is a wonderful resource and that we should take care of it. We should do a lot more. We should be pushing recycling. For example, in public housing they don't do recycling.

Steve Ahlquist: I did not know that.

Michelle Rivera: That's been something that has been bothering me for some time, something that I'd want to look into. Then there's renewable energy and preserving our forests.

Steve Ahlquist: What is your understanding of the Senate culture? By that, I mean how the Senate conducts its business and manages the flow of legislation. Do you have opinions on that?

Michelle Rivera: The process could use some modifications. The power isn't exactly balanced. There should be more transparency and more engagement between communities and their Senators to promote advocacy and be part of the process because these policies trickle down and directly affect us.

Steve Ahlquist: As policy director at Progreso Latino what kind of bills have you advocated for?

Michelle Rivera: During this last legislative session, we advocated for a variety of bills. One that was important and personal to me was the Secure Choice Retirement Act.

Steve Ahlquist: Can you explain that a little bit?

Michelle Rivera: The AARP was also on board. A lot of minorities, disproportionately, don't have access to retirement programs through their employers. The Secure Choice Retirement Act would have created a state-run program for organizations of a hundred employees or less, at no cost to the organization.

Research shows that individuals who had the choice were, I believe, 15 times more likely to save. And Social Security is not going as far as it used to. In my culture, in my family, we didn't talk about saving and the future. The Secure Choice Retirement Act would have been a very important piece of legislation to help our community when they reach an older age so that they're able to build generational wealth.

Steve Ahlquist: And that didn't pass.

Michelle Rivera: No, it did not.

Steve Ahlquist: And this retirement account is not job dependent. It would follow you if you switch jobs.

Michelle Rivera: We've also advocated for healthy school meals for all, Senator Cano's bill. Free lunch and breakfast for all students. [Editor: That bill passed in the Senate, but not the House.]

Steve Ahlquist: I'm into that bill. Representative Marcia Ranglin-Vassell had that.

Michelle Rivera: She's great. She worked hard to combat childhood hunger. We also advocated for a couple of the bills that were in the Speaker's housing package, like the rental application fee ban.

Steve Ahlquist: I just interviewed the Speaker. I'm transcribing his interview now.

My last question would be, what's your pitch? When you're going to doors, what do you say to people?

Michelle Rivera: My name is Michelle Rivera and I'm running for State Senator. I grew up in poverty. I faced homelessness as a teen and I served overseas in Afghanistan as part of the military. When I came back, I went to CCRI and then Rhode Island College to get my Master's in Social Work. I've seen firsthand the devastation that inflation and poverty have on our families and communities, which is why I want to repeal the tax cuts for the rich, so we can invest in housing, healthcare, and schools.

I then ask, what are some of the issues that are important to them, and typically we have great conversations because these issues resonate with people. It comes across to whoever I'm talking to that I'm a passionate advocate, that I care about the community, and that I will fight for what's right.

Steve Ahlquist: I know I said it was the last question, but I have one more. As you talk to people, do you get a sense of precarity? Do people feel like they're only a couple of paychecks away from losing everything?

Michelle Rivera: Some people expressed that they are struggling and that something has to be done soon because they're not going to be able to support themselves much longer.

Steve Ahlquist: That's scary.

Michelle Rivera: It is. And it reminds me of why it's so important to keep doing what I'm doing.

Steve Ahlquist: Thank you so much. I enjoyed talking to you.

Update July 12

Michelle Rivera has announced four progressive endorsements in her bid to represent Senate District 1:

“I’m proud to endorse Michelle because my constituents deserve a Senator who understands the struggles they face,” said Providence City Councilmember Justin Roias, whose ward overlaps Senate District 1

“I’m excited to endorse Michelle because our community deserves a Senator who will fight for the investments we need,” said State Representative David Morales, whose district overlaps with Senate District 1.

“What inspires me most about Michelle is her compassion for the vulnerable in our society,” said State Representative Enrique Sanchez, who represents a nearby district in Providence.

“What makes me so excited about Michelle is that she’s not afraid to take on the wealthy special interests who have done so much damage to our state,” said Senator Sam Bell, who represents a neighboring Senate district in Providence.

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