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Portrait of Gustavo RiveraPhoto: nysenate.gov

NY · Officeholder

Gustavo Rivera

DState Senator · District 33

On the ballot Nov 3, 2026: NY State Senate · District 33

Biography

J. Gustavo Rivera is the Democratic and Working Families Party nominee for re-election to New York State Senate District 33 in the central Bronx. Born in Puerto Rico, he worked as a political organizer and taught political science before winning the Senate seat in 2010. He chairs the Senate Health Committee — the first person of color to lead it — and is unopposed in the general election.[1][2][3][4]

Rivera was born and raised in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to his official biography.[3][4] He earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Puerto Rico in 1998, then moved to New York to begin doctoral studies in political science at the CUNY Graduate Center.[2][3][4] He later taught political science as an adjunct professor at Pace University and Hunter College.[2][3]

Rivera worked as a community organizer for local and state campaigns, including those of State Senators Jose Serrano and Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Fernando Ferrer's 2001 New York City mayoral campaign.[3] In 2008 he worked for the Service Employees International Union on Barack Obama's presidential campaign, serving as the campaign's Constituency Director in Florida, and afterward was Director of Outreach for U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.[3]

Rivera was elected to the State Senate in November 2010, defeating incumbent Pedro Espada Jr. in the Democratic primary, and took office in 2011. He was re-elected in 2012 through 2024, and in 2022 he won a Democratic primary by 506 votes, per Wikipedia.[2][3][4] He served as Ranking Member of the Senate Health Committee before becoming its chair in 2018, the first person of color to lead that committee, and he also co-chairs the Joint Senate Task Force on Opioids, Addiction & Overdose Prevention.[3] He sponsors the New York Health Act, which would create a state single-payer health plan.[3][4]

According to his official biography, Rivera served on the board of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), lived in Kingsbridge Heights for more than 20 years, and now lives in Bedford Park.[3]

  1. 1.New York State Senate District 33 · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  2. 2.J. Gustavo Rivera · Ballotpedia · 2026-09-25 Reference
  3. 3.About Gustavo Rivera · NYSenate.gov Official record
  4. 4.Gustavo Rivera (politician) · Wikipedia · 2026-10-21 Reference

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.

On the ballot

Full candidate research ›NY State Senate · District 33 ›

Votes by issue

Their recorded votes on bills that divided the chamber (unanimous votes left out), grouped by topic. A bill can sit under more than one topic. "With" and "against" compare each vote with how most Democrats voted. How topics are assigned

Where they stood out

Voted against most of their party on 1 of 681 party-divided votes on file.

  • Relates to labor peace agreements and the cannabis industry wage board; repealer

    What it does: Relates to labor peace agreements and the cannabis industry wage board.

    Voted no · most Democrats voted yes · Democrats 33–4, Republicans 3–19

    Jun 4, 2026Official record ↗

How this is counted

Their votes on the most contested roll calls

The votes in their chamber that came out closest and most divided by party, among those they voted on. How we rank

See all their split votes

Substantive votes concern legislation or nominations; procedural votes concern how the chamber considers them. A Yes vote applies to the motion shown, which may not be final passage.

A10030-B · NY SENATE

Requires health insurers to provide coverage for speech therapy for stuttering

YesVOTED

Requires health insurers to provide coverage for speech therapy for stuttering.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 58–2·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10158 · NY SENATE

Extends limitations on the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Clarkstown, county of Rockland

YesVOTED

Extends limitations on the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Clarkstown, county of Rockland for an additional year for 2026-2027.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10184 · NY SENATE

Limiting the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Haverstraw, county of Rockland

YesVOTED

Relates to limiting the shift between classes of taxable property in the town of Haverstraw, county of Rockland for 2026-2027.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 58–2·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10312-A · NY SENATE

Relates to information that residential health care facilities are required to disclose to residents and their families

YesVOTED

Relates to information that residential health care facilities are required to separately disclose to residents and their families; requires such information to be posted on the residential health care facility's website.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 39–21·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10390-A · NY SENATE

Establishes a school speed zone camera demonstration program in the city of Poughkeepsie

YesVOTED

Establishes a school speed zone camera demonstration program in the city of Poughkeepsie; repeals authorization of program December 31, 2030.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10391 · NY SENATE

Relates to adjudications and owner liability for a violation of traffic-control signal indications in the city of Poughkeepsie

YesVOTED

Relates to adjudications and owner liability for a violation of traffic-control signal indications in the city of Poughkeepsie.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10411-A · NY SENATE

Prohibits motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers from charging a subscription fee for certain functions of a motor vehicle after the vehicle is sold

YesVOTED

Prohibits motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers from charging a subscription fee for certain functions of a motor vehicle after the vehicle is sold; provides that any manufacturer, dealer, or agent of a manufacturer or dealer that fails to comply with such requirements shall be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars per point of sale for each violation.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 57–3·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10478 · NY SENATE

Relates to the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the town of Southampton

YesVOTED

Increases the term of office from two years to four years for the Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the town of Southampton, county of Suffolk, and providing for the staggering of such terms of office.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 58–2·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A10922 · NY SENATE

Extends certain provisions relating to the sale, issuance and refund of bonds and notes of New York city

YesVOTED

Extends certain provisions relating to the sale of bonds and notes of the city of New York, the issuance of bonds or notes with variable rates of interest, interest rate exchange agreements of the city of New York, the refunding of bonds, and the down payment for projects financed by bonds; extends the New York state financial emergency act for the city of New York; makes further amendments relating to the effectiveness thereof.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 56–4·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗
A11030-A · NY SENATE

Requires utility corporations and municipalities to notify property owners prior to beginning any scheduled non-emergency construction or other work

YesVOTED

Requires a utility corporation or municipality to notify property owners at least five business days prior to beginning any non-emergency construction or other work that will result in a planned interruption of a customer's property; requires notice to include, but not be limited to, a description of the work to be performed, the expected duration of such work, the location of such work, and the contact information for the utility performing such work; exempts cases where a natural or man-made disaster or state of emergency occurs.

Official summary — read the bill text ↗
Passed Senate 59–1·Substantive·Jun 4, 2026Roll call ↗

Showing 10 of 2037 votes in this collection. Coverage may be incomplete; each entry links to the official record.