Rivera, David, 1965-

David Mauricio Rivera (born September 16, 1965) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Florida's 25th congressional district from 2011 to 2013.

Born in New York City, he graduated from Miami Christian High School before earning his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in Political Science from Florida International University in 1986 and his MPA there in 1994. Rivera had extensive political experience before ever running for office himself. As a teenager he volunteered with Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign, and worked on Jack Kemp’s run for the White House eight years later. Among other roles, Rivera spent some time in the office of United States Senator Connie Mack of Florida, after helping him win election in 1988. And in 1996, Rivera worked for the Republican presidential ticket of Robert Dole and Jack Kemp. Rivera also directed the GOP’s outreach efforts in Florida, and worked for the U.S. Information Agency, the governing body of Radio and TV Martí, a federally sponsored media venture that sent anti-Castro programming to Cuba. In 2002, after years of working behind the scenes, Rivera successfully ran for a seat in the Florida state house. In the Florida house, Rivera chaired the rules committee before serving as chairman of the appropriations committee from 2009 to 2010, where he pushed to create new professional schools at FIU and helped the Miami-Dade delegation work within a tight state budget.

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