Mayor Rivera

Within a span of two months, Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera is receiving two different awards recognizing his work as a city leader.

On Sept. 15, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s New England region named Rivera as one of eight Massachusetts recipients of its 2020 Environmental Merit Awards, which recognizes commitment to environmental protection. The agency cited the Lawrence mayor’s dedication to the cleanup of contaminated properties, park and trail development, environmental outreach to city youth, and tree plantings, among other accomplishments.

On Oct. 8, MassINC will give Rivera its first Mayor Bill Carpenter Award for Excellence in Gateway City Leadership. The award is named after the former mayor of Brockton, who died in July 2019 during his third term and was highly regarded for his focus on economic development and urban renewal. The award goes to officials who seek out new ideas and work collaboratively, while championing their cities and the collective interests of the state’s gateway cities.

MassINC referenced Rivera’s work on developing a comprehensive neighborhood stabilization program and his advocacy for Student Opportunity Act funding and police accountability legislation. Rivera will receive the award at MassINC’s eighth annual Gateway Cities Innovation Institute Awards and Summit.

An Army veteran who served in Iraq and Kuwait during operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, Rivera first entered Lawrence city politics by winning election to the City Council in 2009. He was elected mayor in 2013 and reelected to a second four-year term in 2017.

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