BAKERSFIELD, CA - It looks like residents of Bakersfield's Ward One have a new city council member to represent them for the next two years.
While most 22-year-olds are trying to shake the college lifestyle and move into the real world, Willie Rivera has a different agenda.
The man who appears to be the next city council member for Ward One in southeast Bakersfield says he is ready to hit the ground running.
His campaign focused on infrastructure investment in the area and a great need to enhance public safety within the Ward One neighborhoods.
Rivera says he hopes to use his age to his advantage to get more young people involved in the community.
Throughout his term, he says he hopes to be accessible to his Ward One constituents in order to better understand the needs of the community.
"I'm going to set out in the next 100 days to try and address those issues that we identified in the campaign," Rivera said. "Then continue talking to everyone in the area to develop a way to incentivize more economic activity in the area, incentivize more businesses to come into the area, to get folks more engaged in their community and really try to bring the residents of Ward One together with one common vision: moving forward."
Rivera worked as a staffer for former Senator Michael Rubio and says Rubio was a large influence on his move into politics. During his campaign, Rivera still managed the 16th Senate District office.
Rivera leads five other candidates for the seat, and according to the County Elections Office, it doesn't appear there are enough provisional and mail-in ballots left to count that would change that.
Rivera says he will meet with the city manager Thursday to get started on the new job.
While most 22-year-olds are trying to shake the college lifestyle and move into the real world, Willie Rivera has a different agenda.
The man who appears to be the next city council member for Ward One in southeast Bakersfield says he is ready to hit the ground running.
His campaign focused on infrastructure investment in the area and a great need to enhance public safety within the Ward One neighborhoods.
Rivera says he hopes to use his age to his advantage to get more young people involved in the community.
Throughout his term, he says he hopes to be accessible to his Ward One constituents in order to better understand the needs of the community.
"I'm going to set out in the next 100 days to try and address those issues that we identified in the campaign," Rivera said. "Then continue talking to everyone in the area to develop a way to incentivize more economic activity in the area, incentivize more businesses to come into the area, to get folks more engaged in their community and really try to bring the residents of Ward One together with one common vision: moving forward."
Rivera worked as a staffer for former Senator Michael Rubio and says Rubio was a large influence on his move into politics. During his campaign, Rivera still managed the 16th Senate District office.
Rivera leads five other candidates for the seat, and according to the County Elections Office, it doesn't appear there are enough provisional and mail-in ballots left to count that would change that.
Rivera says he will meet with the city manager Thursday to get started on the new job.