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David Rivera

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David Rivera
David Rivera.jpg
U.S. House, Florida, District 25
Retired Representative
In office
January 3, 2011-January 3, 2013
PartyRepublican
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 6, 2012
First elected2010
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
Florida House of Representatives, District 112
2003-2011
Education
High schoolMiami Christian High School
Bachelor'sFlorida International University (1986)[1]
Master'sFlorida International University (1994)
Personal
BirthdaySeptember 16, 1965
Place of birthNew York, New York
ReligionCatholic
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Contents

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 		The information about this individual is current as of when his or her last campaign ended. See anything that needs updating? Send a correction to our editors
David Mauricio Rivera (b. September 16, 1965) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Rivera was elected by voters from Florida's 25th congressional district. He served from 2011-2013.

Due to redistricting, Rivera ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Florida's 26th District. He won the nomination on the Republican ticket.[2] Rivera ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 14, 2012.[3] He was defeated on November 6, 2012 by Joe Garcia.[4]

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Rivera was a "centrist Republican follower".[5]

Biography

Rivera was born in New York City on September 16, 1965 and moved to Florida in 1974.[6] He graduated from Miami Christian High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in Political Science from Florida International University in 1986 and his MPA in 1994. [1]

Careers

Committee assignments

U.S. House of Representatives

2011-2012

Rivera served on the following committees:[7]

Florida House of Representatives

2009-2010

Issues

Florida House of Representatives

Rivera's sponsored legislation included:

  • HB 1485 - "Secondhand Dealers: Provides that certain businesses that purchase precious metals are exempt from provisions of law regulating secondhand dealers under certain circumstances."
  • HB 1489 - "Workers' Compensation: Decriminalizes receipt of attorney's fee that has not been approved by judge of compensation claims; limits scope of judge of compensation claims' authority to approve settlement agreements; revises provisions relating to attorney's fees"
  • HB 1491 - "Pari-Mutuel Permitholders: Provides that no new pari-mutuel permits shall be issued after certain date; removes provisions for application to Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering for permit to conduct quarter horse race meetings"

For details and a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House site.

Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

David Rivera endorsed Newt Gingrich in the 2012 presidential election. [8]

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "No" Rivera voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 151 Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[9]

Controversies

Campaign finance scandal

During the primary stage of the 2012 election season that ended in Rivera's defeat by Democrat Joe Garcia, The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald identified discrepancies in the campaign finance reports of Garcia's primary opponent, Justin Lamar Sternad.[10] Beginning in Aug. 2012, the newspapers' coverage of Sternad's alleged campaign funding crimes also brought Rivera, who reportedly helped finance anti-Garcia mailers, among other expensive maneuvers executed by the Sternad campaign, to the attention of federal law enforcement authorities. Subsequent investigations by the FBI and the Federal Election Commission resulted in Sternad's indictment on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and concealing the source of unreported campaign funds.[11] Sternad surrendered to federal authorities on February 22, 2013 following a FBI and grand jury investigation which explored Rivera's involvement in the scheme. However it did not produce any charges against Rivera, who denied links to any illegal activity and whose name did not appear in Sternad's indictment. According to The Miami Herald, this is due to the missing testimony of Rivera's close friend as well as Sternad's campaign manager, Ana Alliegro. Alliegro went underground after failing to show up to her meeting with the FBI in Sept. 2012 in which she would have been required to explain eyewitness accounts alleging she funneled the cash from Rivera to Sternad's campaign.[11]

Elections

2012

See also: Florida's 26th congressional district elections, 2012

Rivera was defeated by Democrat Joe Garcia in the general election on November 6, 2012.[12]

Due to redistricting, Rivera ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Florida's 26th District.[13] The signature filing deadline was June 8, 2012, with the primary taking place on August 14, 2012. Rivera ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 14, 2012.[3] River was considered a vulnerable incumbent in the 2012 general election.[14] He was defeated on November 6, 2012 by Joe Garcia.[15]

U.S. House, Florida, District 26 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark.jpgJoe Garcia 53.6% 135,694
     Republican David Rivera 43% 108,820
     Independent Angel Fernandez 2.3% 5,726
     Independent Jose Peixoto 1.1% 2,717
Total Votes 252,957
Source: Florida Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Campaign themes

2012

Rivera's campaign website listed the following issues:[16]

  • Economy: Tax Cuts, Jobs and Balanced Budgets
Excerpt: "David believes that the biggest problem our economy is facing is that business owners, especially small business owners are nervous, and reluctant to start hiring again. The federal government needs to stop spending more money, and start incentivizing the growth of businesses to encourage lasting job creation. "
  • Second Amendment
Excerpt: "David supports and protects the right to bear arms. He has received ‘A’ ratings from the from the National Rifle Association and in this past legislative session he was instrumental in passing a bill that protected the concealed weapons and firearms licensing trust fund from being raided, which would have amounted to a tax on the Second Amendment."
  • Immigration
Excerpt: "David believes that stopping illegal immigration starts by controlling our borders and strengthening existing penalties for people entering the country illegally. There are also many businesses that subsist on the work of illegal immigrants and David believes that the federal government must enact harsh penalties against employers that hire illegal immigrants. "
  • Israel
Excerpt: "David believes that Israel stands as a beacon of freedom in a region where freedom is especially stifled. Because of this he values the unique relationship that the United States and Israel have shared. David believes in providing foreign aid to Israel and will support calls to our Arab allies to work towards normalizing relations with Israel. "
  • Iran
Excerpt: "David believes in putting pressure on Iran to end its uranium enrichment and weaponry programs. He will support legislation and actions that condemn Iran if they continue to build up a nuclear and military threat against Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East and Europe. "

2010

Due to Florida term limits, Rivera did not run for re-election in the Florida House of Representatives elections of 2010.[17]


On November 2, 2010, Rivera won election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Joe Garcia (D), Roly Arrojo (I) and Craig Porter (I) in the general election.[18]

U.S. House of Representatives, Florida's 25th Congressional District, General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgDavid Rivera 52.1% 74,859
     Democratic Joe Garcia 42.6% 61,138
     Tea Party Roly Arrojo 3% 4,312
     Florida Whig Party Craig Porter 2.3% 3,244
Total Votes 143,553

2008

On November 4, 2008, Rivera won re-election to the Florida House of Representatives from Florida's 112th District, defeating Maria Gonzalez (write-in). Rivera received 32,412 votes in the election while Gonzalez received 23 votes.[19] Rivera raised $347,946 for his campaign.[20]

Florida House of Representatives, District 112
Candidates Votes Percent
Green check mark.jpg David Rivera (R) 32,412 99.9%
Maria Gonzalez (write-in) 23 0.1%

Campaign donors

2012

Breakdown of the source of Rivera's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Rivera lost election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Rivera's campaign committee raised a total of $609,503 and spent $616,312.[21]


On October 15, 2012, quarterly reports were submitted by campaigns to the Federal Election Commission. The political blog Daily Kos did an analysis of the fundraising figures and found Democratic challenger Joe Garcia outraised Republican incumbent David Rivera in the third quarter. Garcia raised $431,000 to Rivera's $122,000.[22]

2010

Breakdown of the source of Rivera's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Rivera won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. During that election cycle, Rivera's campaign committee raised a total of $1,895,640 and spent $1,884,654 .[23]

2008

Below are Rivera's top 5 campaign contributors in the 2008 election:[24]

Contributor 2008 total
Hospital Corp of America $3,500
FL Hospital Assoc $2,500
Bahia Honda Real Estate Investments $2,000
FL Cable Telecommunications Assoc $2,000
FL Assoc of Insurance Agents $2,000

Analysis

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Rivera paid his congressional staff a total of $740,577 in 2011. He ranked 19th on the list of the lowest paid Republican Representative Staff Salaries and he ranked 21st overall of the lowest paid Representative Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Florida ranks 36th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[25]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Rivera's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $-148,998 and $164,999. That averages to $8,000.50, which was lower than the average net worth of Republican Representatives in 2010 of $7,561,133.[26]

National Journal vote ratings

2011

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Rivera ranked 143rd in the conservative rankings.[27]

Percentage voting with party

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, David Rivera voted with the Republican Party 92 of the time, which ranked 129 among the 242 House Republican members in November 2011.[28]

Personal

Rivera was born in New York, New York, in 1965 and moved to Miami, Florida in 1974. [6] He currently resides in Miami, Florida.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term David + Rivera + Florida + House

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

David Rivera News Feed


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External links


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 RIVERA, David "Biographical Information" Accessed October 24, 2011
  2. ↑ Politico "Taddeo is 2nd Dem planning Rivera challenge" Accessed December 3, 2011
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 AP Results "U.S. House Results" Accessed August 14, 2012
  4. ↑ [ http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Elections/Florida ABC News "2012 General Election Results"]
  5. ↑ Gov Track "Rivera" Accessed May 15, 2012
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Congressman David Rivera "Full Biography" Accessed October 24, 2011
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Congressman David Rivera "Committees and Caucuses" Accessed October 24, 2011
  8. ↑ FOX News Latino, "Florida Republican Breaks Ranks with Fellow Lawmakers and Supports Gingrich," January 17, 2012
  9. ↑ U.S. House "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ The Miami Herald, "Amid FBI probe, GOP prepares for Rivera indictment, loss and future successors," October 2, 2013
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Miami Herald, "Suspect in David Rivera campaign-finance scandal charged Friday with federal crimes," February 21, 2013
  12. ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, Florida"
  13. ↑ Florida Election Division "Candidate List" Accessed March 28, 2012
  14. ↑ New York Times "House Ratings" Accessed October 3
  15. ↑ [ http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Elections/Florida ABC News "2012 General Election Results"]
  16. ↑ Campaign website, Issues
  17. ↑ List of 2010 state legislative candidates in Florida
  18. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  19. ↑ Florida House official election results for 2008
  20. ↑ District 112 Florida House candidate funds, 2008
  21. ↑ OpenSecrets "2012 Election" Accessed March 21, 2013
  22. ↑ Daily Kos "Third quarter House fundraising: who's got the cash?" October 18, 2012
  23. ↑ Open Secrets "David Rivera 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed October 26, 2011
  24. ↑ Follow the Money - 2008 Campaign contributions
  25. ↑ LegiStorm "David Rivera"
  26. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Rivera, (R-Florida), 2010"
  27. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  28. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
Political offices
Preceded by
Mario Diaz-Balart (R) 		U.S. House of Representatives - Florida, District 25
2011–2013 		Succeeded by
Mario Diaz-Balart (R)
Preceded by
' 		Florida House of Representatives District 112
2003–2011 		Succeeded by
Jeanette Nuñez
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