Chris Rivera got accustomed to addressing city councilors during his long employment as a Santa Fe firefighter. Even before he moved into the Fire Department administration, he stood at the council chamber lectern as a union official.

Now, Rivera, 46, wants to be on the other side of the conversation. He was one of the first candidates to announce that he would seek the open council seat in District 3.

He's holding down a full-time job with Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center's orthopedic clinic and campaigning, as well as keeping track of four daughters.

But Rivera says he stands apart from the field both because of his experience at City Hall and because he's the only candidate among three hopefuls for the job who applied for and received public rather than private campaign financing.

He already serves on the Public Safety Committee, which advises the City Council on police and fire issues, and says that experience leads him to want a greater role in policymaking.

In a district with historically low voter turnout, the former fire chief said establishing name recognition has been the biggest challenge.

"I still go to City Hall, and some people call me 'Chief,' " he said. "I say, 'You don't know my first name, do you?' "

Rivera grew up in a neighborhood west of downtown on Daniel Street. He attended The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He returned to Santa Fe to apply for a Fire Department job during a summer vacation and never went back to school. "I fell in love with it," he said.

He earned an associate degree from Santa Fe Community College and has been working toward bachelor's degrees in both business and education, but he remains several credits short of either degree.

Rivera, whose wife is an education assistant in the public school system, tried his hand at a similar job at Capshaw Middle School after retiring from the Fire Department in 2009. He said he knows there are better ways the city can partner with schools, including working to restore after-school programs on the south side. For example, Girls Inc. closed its operations in Tierra Contenta last year, leaving a void for youth and a city-funded building that is unused.

Although he wasn't familiar with the city's annual gross-receipts-tax allocation to the Santa Fe Children's Commission, when asked, Rivera said he would favor any way in which the city can increase spending on children's programs.

Rivera admits he has a lot to learn about city departments that aren't public-safety oriented, but he believes his experience working with the budget process is going to be an asset.

He said he understands why people who live on the southwest side feel marginalized and disconnected from city politics. One way to address that, he said, is to spread the word about what the city is already doing in the area and what it has on tap.

"Whenever people say that, I always ask them if they visited the Southside [Branch] Library. It is a beautiful building," he said.

He should know. He not only participated in the planning of the facility while at the Fire Department, but his daughter was the first person to check out a book there.

Events such as last summer's presentation of a movie in a park at Tierra Contenta go a long way toward making the community feel more cohesive, he said.

While some candidates have shied away from expressing a view about how they will vote on a proposed package of general obligation bonds that will share the ballot with the council races, Rivera said he favors the bond issues because of their job-creation potential.

The city's Economic Development Division could do a much better job of reaching the immigrant population, he said, for example helping people with food trucks open permanent restaurants.

The candidate also is getting advice and support from Councilor Carmichael Dominguez, a District 3 representative who isn't up for re-election this time around.

Dominguez said he supports Rivera for three reasons: His experience at City Hall and with public safety, and his message on youth.

"He really understands the needs that our young people have. I just really appreciate that," said Dominguez, who served on the Santa Fe school board before becoming a city councilor.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.


Chris Rivera

Age: 46

Education: St. Michael's High School graduate; associate degree from Santa Fe Community College; course work at The University of New Mexico in education and business.

Occupation: Clinic manager for Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.

Experience: Retired city firefighter who served as fire chief from 2006-09; worked briefly as a teacher's aide at Capshaw Middle School; serves on city Public Safety Committee; past board member of American Youth Soccer Organization.

Personal: Lifetime Santa Fe resident; married to Angela Rivera; four daughters; lives in Tierra Contenta.

Campaign info: Publicly financed campaign; www.votechristopherrivera.com.