In the News

AT THE CENTER OF PEOPLE, PLANNING & POLITICS

WGBH. Biden's Pick Marks The End Of Warren 2020 — But Not Her National Influence. August 2020

National Journal. Kennedy searches for his base. August 2020.

“If this was two years ago, I don’t know if he’d be able to survive something like that,” said Wilnelia Rivera, the president of Rivera Consulting, who worked for Steve Pemberton when he was challenging Markey last year. Now, she suggested, the relationships he’s built and his quick pivot will lessen the impact.

WBUR. Progressive Strategists Say COVID-19 Presents An Opportunity To Reshape The Democratic Narrative. August 2020

WBUR's Bob Oakes spoke recently with the co-authors Wilnelia Rivera and Katherine Adams about why they see COVID-19 as an opportunity to bring the country together amidst a new understanding of our society's interdependent nature and the need to overhaul America's frayed social safety net.

NECN. Maximizing Voter Turnout During Emergencies with Sue O’Connell. August 2020

Boston Herald. Kennedy, Markey scramble for voters after months stuck inside. August 2020.

“The Latino electorate could be a swing electorate,” Boston-based Democratic strategist Wilnelia Rivera said. “It’s a sizable enough electorate that also hasn’t stayed with Markey the way that everybody else has.”

ABC News. Trump's defiant campaign amid pandemic ramps up ground game, as Biden looks for another way.August 2020

"By now, I expected it to see a surrogate campaign of many aligned Democrats issuing a coordinated message of what it is that we need right now: to not just win in November, but to put our country back on track," said Rivera, a contributor to the book "Turnout: Mobilizing Voters in an Emergency." Rivera said she's not suggesting Democrats put volunteers or staff in "harm's way" amid the pandemic, but said they need to start realizing that Republicans "are not going to play this election fair" -- campaigning as if the country was not in the middle of a health crisis.”

MassLive. Coronavirus pandemic prompts Massachusetts lawmakers to file vote-by-mail bills. May 2020. 

NECN. How Activism and Social Distancing Can Coexist. May 2020

Boston Herald. Coronavirus forcing gloves off in Kennedy, Markey U.S. Senate battle. May 2020

“This campaign is going to be in the margins,” strategist Wilnelia Rivera said. But “it’s still hard to beat a Kennedy in Massachusetts.”

The Boston Herald. Coronavirus makes for tougher road for any Boston mayoral challengers against Walsh. May 2020

“Wilnelia Rivera, who runs a busy Boston-based Democratic consulting firm, said that while this is a tough time to campaign, the fact that the race is still a year off gives time for a strong candidate to make inroads.

“There’s always room for a candidate who comes out of the gate and really captures where people are,” she said”

The Daily Metro West.Rausch lets it ride in absentee voting debate. May 2020. 

“Many people have difficulty getting to the voting booth,” the Needham Democrat told the Election Laws Committee. “Consider, for example, the unreliability of our public transit system. If the T is late, and someone is trying to get home from work to get to the voting booth and the T can’t get them there on time, they don’t get to vote, and that seems like a terrible reason to strip someone of their right to use their voice and their vote.”

WBUR. Federal Aid Might Not Reach Small Businesses Owned By People of Color, Advocates Fear. MAY 2020.

"Many of the businesses were left in the dark," said Rosario Ubiera-Minaya, executive director for the nonprofit Amplify Latinx, which is also in the Coalition. "Many of the businesses thought they didn't qualify because they didn't understand the information."

Ubiera-Minaya added that while the past decade has seen minority-owned businesses proliferate and grow, that progress could be reversed due to the pandemic. This isn't just bad news for those business owners; it's bad news for the economy, she said.

"It's not only a black and brown issue. It's a statewide issue. It's an economic issue," she said. "We cannot leave them behind."

WGHB. Marty, Charlie, Ayanna – Who Is The Best Massachusetts Politician Of The Decade? May 2020.

“Seth Moulton and Ayanna Pressley both scored shocking upsets over incumbent congressmen. Pressley “rewrote the political playbook in Boston without anybody paying attention, and executed it before anybody knew it,” says Wilnelia Rivera, founder of Rivera Consulting, who worked on that campaign.”

FORBES. Gender Justice Funders Lead The Way In Providing Flexible Funding. April 27, 2020

‘“It is important that we reduce red-tape and labor required of our grantees to obtain funding,” says Vanessa Daniel, Founder and Executive Director of Groundswell Fund, one of the largest funders of grassroots organizing and electoral work led by women of color and transgender people of color in the U.S. “We have waived all written proposal requirements for eligible organizations and are carrying out renewal processes with current grantees via phone calls. We are flexible with deadlines since the last thing grantees should be worried about now is paperwork for funders.”

WGBH. A Frontrunner's Fall: What Brought Elizabeth Warren Down? March 6, 2020.

President Wilnelia Rivera had this to say about the Super Tuesday results:

"White men without college degrees do not like Elizabeth Warren,” said Wilnelia Rivera, the president of Rivera Consulting. “If you look at that one data point, especially on Super Tuesday, she bombed.”

Rivera said she thinks Warren’s struggles with that particular demographic point to a bigger issue: She was a woman, seeking a job that no woman has ever held, and being held to a different standard than her male competitors as she did so.

She did everything right,” Rivera said. “And it still didn’t matter.”

Boston Magazine. Wilnelia Rivera Is Fighting for Democracy, One Campaign at a Time. January January 15, 2020. 

WICKED Local Needham. Massachusetts passes the Healthy Youth Act. January 20, 2020.

“The state senate adopted by unanimous vote an amendment crafted in part by Rausch to require schools to report to the Department of Education and Secondary Education a description of any sexual health curricula used, the aggregate number of students who enrolled in this instruction and the aggregate number of students who opted out. The aggregated data will be posted on the DESE website and the raw data will be shared with the Department of Public Health.” 

 The Bay State Banner. City Council starts year with activist agenda. January 22, 2020.  

Barr Foundation. Six Mobility Lessons from Europe’s Most Sustainable City. December 1, 2019.

“I came away from the experience in awe of the politics, adoption, and impact of Oslo's Climate Budget. In 2017, the Mayor of Oslo—a working class guy turned politician—created the Climate Budget to provide transparency and accountability for efforts aiming to reduce carbon emissions. The Climate Budget is an innovative governance tool that clearly outlines the initiatives that the City of Oslo will implement to reduce carbon, who is responsible for them, the timeline for their implementation, and the expected emission reductions in relation to the city’s climate goals. The Oslo Climate Budget has institutionalized scalable changes, interagency change management, and data driven procurement metrics. Boston could look to Oslo’s model and create a similar tool to help move toward its climate goals.”

NPQ. Diversifying Boards Means Ceding Control—Are White Nonprofit Leaders Ready? November 21, 2019.

“Organizer Wilnelia Rivera, in an interview with NPQ’s Cyndi Suarez, describes the shift in more personal terms. While there might be seats at the table for many different people, will power be given up by those who hold it? Will new segments of a community be allowed to take control? She fears that just integrating a board without changing the power dynamic “manipulates the heart.”

“We think that getting a seat the table will move the dial,” she says, “but they’ll remind you that it’s not your seat, or your table.”

NPQ. What Does It Look Like to Support Women of Color to Lead?. October 8, 2019. 

“Ultimately, politics is not about changing culture. It’s about changing policy. It doesn’t change people’s hearts. I’m acknowledging culture now as a form of creating change in a way that I wouldn’t have before. Organizations that combine political and cultural organizing do more transformative work.

Dot Reporter. Council at-large hopefuls take questions at Roxbury forum. October 17, 2019. 

“When we talk about housing, we need to talk about the multi-faceted servicing that needs to go along with that; it’s not just putting a roof over someone’s head. We have to think about the circumstances that put them in that position in the first place.

The Boston Globe. Pemberton drops out of US Senate race, citing Kennedy and Markey’s ‘entrenched power.’ October 14, 2019.

Pembertonforma.com. Thank you Massachusetts. October 14, 2019. 

“It also became clear that the barriers placed before anyone attempting to take on entrenched power are in so many cases too towering and too irremovable to overcome. They are bolstered by state and federal party bosses who privately blacklist anyone attempting to aid an insurgent campaign while publicly espousing the importance of diversity and inclusivity. They are supported by a campaign finance system that allows incumbents to hoard millions of dollars in special interest PAC money — right up to the point where they “see the light” and conveniently embrace campaign finance reform for short-term political advantage while sitting comfortably on their bloated war chests. And they are protected by the insiders who criticized me for breaking the party ‘rule’ of challenging an incumbent, forced consultants off of my campaign, and then changed their tune when Congressman Kennedy, in unprecedented fashion, entered into the race. The message, delivered to me, in word and in deed was abundantly clear: those same rules did not apply to him.” -Steve Pemberton

The Rainbow Times. Holyoke Mayor Challenges Incumbent For 1st Congressional Seat. October 11, 2019.

Boston.com. Boston City Council candidate opens up about her sister’s murder. October 9, 2019.

The Boston Herald. Council candidates served by running. September 27, 2019 

The Boston Herald: Don’t let JPKIII overshadow other contenders. Published September 26, 2019.

“No one’s going to tell me that that voice doesn’t have a place in this race,” he said. “You’re never going to be able to convince me that that voice doesn’t have a place in this race and doesn’t have a place in the United States Senate, and it’s not there now.”

WBUR: Diverse Field Set For Final Boston City Council Elections. Published September 25.

In Roxbury, District 7 incumbent Kim Janey also had two challengers. Janey got 70% of the vote Tuesday, and will face Roy Owens Sr. on the final ballot.

MassLive: Alex Morse, looking to unseat Rep. Richard Neal, releases tax returns for the last 8 years. Published September 23.

WGBH: Why Is Voter Turnout In Local Elections So Low? Published September 16,2019

Political consultant Wilnelia Rivera told the Bay State Banner, “What we’re seeing is a shift in the power structure of the council.

Buzzfeed: He Became Mayor At Just 22. Now He’s Running To Take Down A 70-Year-Old House Democrat. Publish September 16, 2019.

WBUR: Latino Candidates Seek To Further Diversify Boston's City Council. Published September 16,2019

“Political strategist and WBUR analyst Wilnelia Rivera ran Ayanna Pressley’s successful move from Boston councilor to U.S. congresswoman, and she's now in charge of St. Guillen’s council bid. According to Rivera, Pressley's primary election saw a 58% increase in turnout over the 2014 primary, and now Rivera wants to know whether the increase can be sustained.

Rivera says she doesn’t expect to see a much higher turnout than in previous non-mayoral elections; she’s expecting just 10% to 12% of registered Latino voters to vote.

So while the council could very likely become majority people of color in November, Rivera says that still isn’t reflected among voters.

“How do we create a multiracial party that's actually multiracial, because you need turnout to look that way," she said. "It's not about who's in the party; it's about who's voting."

The Boston Harald: Steve Pemberton draws contrasts with Ed Markey, Joseph. Published September 5, 2019.

“No one’s going to tell me that that voice doesn’t have a place in this race,” he said. “You’re never going to be able to convince me that that voice doesn’t have a place in this race and doesn’t have a place in the United States Senate, and it’s not there now.”

The Daily Free Press: A look into the top fundraisers in the race for city councilor at-large. September 5, 2019

Non-incumbent challenger Alejandra St. Guillen, who previously served as director of Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s Office of Immigrant Advancement, raised the fourth most money, coming in with a fundraising total of $110,493. 

Jessica Bahena, campaign manager for St. Guillen, said while St. Guillen did not have the same advantage as the other well-connected veteran politicians, her campaign has had success building a grassroots level network throughout the city.

“[St. Guillen] doesn’t have an amplified network of donors, as other candidates, but what has been helping us is that she has a lot of loyal grassroots donors,” Bahena said, “and those donors have been able to reach out to their network to host meet and greets, grassroots dollar events.

Bay State Banner: A sea change on the city council?. September 5, 2019

WBUR. Challenge To Neal Is The Latest Evidence Of A Political And Generational Split Among Dems. Published August 2, 2019.

Boston.com. What to know about Ed Markey’s new primary challenger. Published July 23.

the hampshire gazette. Holyoke mayor to challenge Neal for congressional seat. published on july 22, 2019

exhale magazine. When Candidates Support Each Other, We All Win. Published on july 30, 2019.

Boston HERALD. City councilors, BPD consider solutions to summertime violence amid ‘spike’.PUBLISHED ON JUNE 25, 2019

BAY STATE BANNER. An issue-oriented council race. Rent control, ICE, school budget: Voters seek answers from candidates. PUBLISHED ON JUNE 18, 2019.

SAMPAN. Symphony Plaza elder housing to stay affordable. PUBLIshed on june 14, 2019.

DOrchester reporter. Pot shop proposals popping up across Dot, Mattapan. published on june 13, 2019.

DORCHESTER REPORTER. City Council field still fluid pending verified signature. published on june 6, 2019.

BOSTON GLOBE. After MFA incidents, ‘dismayed and disheartened’ city councilor calls for inclusion hearing. published on june 6, 2019.

RAINBOW TIMES. Openly Gay & First Latinx Woman Runs For Boston City Council At-Large Seat. PUBLISHED on JUNE 6, 2019.

BOSTON GLOBE. Steve Pemberton, ex-foster child who defied the odds, ponders run for US SenatE. Published on june 4, 2019.

WGBH. Three Boston City Council Candidates — 2 Running Against Each Other — Share A Campaign Office. AIRED on JUNE 4, 2019.

BOSTON GLOBE. Women of color team up for Boston City Council run. Published on june 2, 2019.

BOSTON HERALD. Boston’s demographic shift favors minority candidates COULD SWING FUTURE MAYORAL RACE. PUBLISHEd ON MAY 11, 2019.

Bay state banner. Fierce competition for votes, money in 2019 council race. PUBLISHEd ON april 29, 2019.

Tufts Magazine. How Wilnelia Rivera is rewriting the political rules and fighting to make sure underrepresented groups are heard.

aMPLIFY Latinx and encuentro diasporo afro. Afro-Latino 365 celebrating black history month. Feature on wilnelia rivera.

THE boston banner. Vacancies spur city council candidates. Published online april 10, 2019.

NATIONAL JOURNAL. “Lynch Looks to Avoid Being Next Primary Casualty.” Published on april 10, 2019.

Rep. Stephen Lynch, a former ironworker with a wicked strong Boston accent, feels like a throwback to a different era of Democratic politics.

It’s especially apparent in the 116th Congress, with big-city, machine-backed politicians Bob Brady, Joseph Crowley, and Michael Capuano having departed Capitol Hill last year and Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois facing another formidable primary challenge from the left.

That makes the Massachusetts incumbent, now serving his ninth full term, an attractive target for a primary challenger, especially since the 8th District is solidly Democratic. But it would still be a big lift for a progressive in a blue-collar seat that Democratic consultant Mary Anne Marsh called “tailor-made” for Lynch.

One of three Democrats still in the House who opposed the Affordable Care Act, Lynch had a reputation as a social conservative early in his tenure. But analyses of his voting record by the Almanac of American Politics show a distinct leftward shift in recent years on social issues, as he has come to support LGBT rights and upholding Roe v. Wade.

“He sticks out like a sore thumb,” said Sean McElwee, cofounder of the progressive group Data for Progress and a leader in the effort to move the Democratic Party left.

Lynch already has two challengers: video-game developer Brianna Wu, who garnered roughly one quarter of the vote against Lynch last year after a campaign she admits she ran poorly, and physician Mohammad Dar, who launched his first bid for office last month.

Wu said in an interview that she plans to emphasize health care and education on the campaign trail. She also said she was prepared to run again in 2020 even before losing last year and has “learned the lessons” of her first race, planning a traditional campaign structure instead of the handful of paid staffers she had last time.

She is already instituting changes. After not doing call time and raising just $113,000 last cycle, Wu said she was fundraising in California last week.

Dar told National Journal that voters are looking for someone who will fight for progressive policies, particularly on health care and the environment, unlike Lynch. He could draw a contrast between his support of Medicare-for-all and the incumbent’s opposition to it. “These moments call us to incredibly bold action,” he said.

Capuano lost decisively to now-Rep. Ayanna Pressley in the neighboring 7th District last year, but not all districts are created equal. The 8th District has gentrified more slowly than the neighboring, minority-white 7th, and it contains significantly less of Boston’s residential areas than the 7th.

“This is not Cambridge or Somerville,” said one Massachusetts Democrat supportive of Lynch.

Wilnelia Rivera, who was Pressley’s general strategist, cautioned that the Pressley playbook may not be replicable given the demographics and Lynch’s popularity locally.

“Because Lynch hasn’t been challenged in a long time, it’s open season. But whoever runs will have to raise a lot of money,” said Rivera, who advised challengers to “approach it at a block-to-block level” as opposed to the Pressley campaign’s digital-heavy strategy that mostly forsook traditional TV advertising.

The better model for progressives may be 1,000 miles away in Chicagoland, where Lipinski faces a likely rematch with progressive Marie Newman in a similarly suburban, blue-collar, historically Democratic district.

“Lynch is basically out of step with what it means to be a Democrat today,” McElwee said. “But the difference with Capuano and Crowley was that they were out of step with what it means to be a progressive.”

While some incumbents may appear rusty or unprepared if they haven’t had a recent challenge, Lynch allies say he shouldn’t be underestimated on the stump.

“Stephen Lynch has always defied political gravity,” said Marsh, who noted the congressman defeated former state Senate President William Bulger’s son in his first state Senate race and beat progressive favorite and fellow state Sen. Cheryl Jacques in his first election to the House, a 2001 special.

But for Democratic voters in the district, which has diversified from being largely white working-class when Lynch was first elected, his common touch may matter more than national trends affecting the party.

Multiple sources said the congressman is well-known for his constituent-services operation and has made it a point to be visible in the district, and the former Ironworkers Local 7 president has deep support from organized labor.

Despite that, Wu singled out working-class, racially diverse Brockton, the second-largest town in the district, as a place where her message may resonate. She said Lynch has “ignored” parts of the district outside of his South Boston base.

Unlike Pressley, who was an at-large member of the Boston City Council, it is highly unlikely any sitting or former officeholders will take on Lynch.

“What Ayanna did in breaking the incumbency rule in Massachusetts is definitely not the tradition, and even more so in that district,” Rivera said. “It’s much more parochial.”

Scott Ferson, a spokesman for Lynch’s campaign, said that while the congressman isn’t taking anything for granted he is more focused on presenting his own case than going after Wu or Dar.

“You have to concentrate on what you can do and not try to control other candidates,” Ferson said. “It’s their job to make that sale.”

GINA CHristo joins SUE O’connell of the take on necn to talk joe biden and why his time is Up. AIRED on April 5, 2019.

WASHINGTON TIMES. DCCC snub emboldens insurgent liberals: 'If that means getting blacklisted ... then so be it.' PUBLISHED ONLINE on APril 4, 2019.

WILNELIA RIVERA joins host jim braude of wgbh’s greater boston. aired on APril 2, 2019.

THE TUFTS DAILY NEWSPAPER. ALUMNI Q&A: WILNELIA RIVERA. PUBLISHED ONLINE MarCh 25, 2019.

Boston globe. St. Guillen’s passion for politics began in tragedy. published march 19,2019.

NEW YORK TIMES. Elizabeth Warren Loses Finance Director as She Struggles in Early Fund-Raising. Published March 31, 2019.

Local business coalition looks to benefit Boston without big name corporations. Wilnelia Rivera JOINS PANEL to talk amazon 2.0

Wilnelia Rivera joins jim Braude of wgbh’s greater boston to talk about the recent state of the union. PaNel for wgbh news. aired february 5, 2019.

Wilnelia Rivera talks about her role in developing strategy for the successful challenge for Congress in the Mass. 7th District by Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley. Interview for BNN News. Aired December 7, 2018.

FIRm FOUNDER talks about activating the massachusetts electorate. AiRED on OCTOBER 22, 2018.

Write here…

Political consultant trades on organizing experience

At the national level, the Democrats’ longstanding strategy of taking more moderate stances to reach out to the so-called swing voters has hampered the party’s efforts to engage younger, more progressive voters, Rivera said. Reaching those voters requires a break from the old playbook, with its emphasis on television advertisements and direct mailings.

“When you have a larger electorate of millennials and people of color, you have to spend money to reach them,” Rivera said. “If you’re a millennial, you may have lived in six different apartments in the last seven years. You’re not getting direct mail. But you may see a video on your friend’s news feed.”

Rivera says her firm remains well-positioned to help candidates reach those voters.

Ultimately, Rivera sees in the groundswell of younger, more liberal voters that swept Massachusetts and the nation promising signs for a re-invigorated Democratic Party.

“Black people, immigrant people and people of color need to come together, rebuild the party and rebuild the country,” she said. “We need to do it in collaboration with everyone else, but we need to be at the forefront.”

Ayanna pressley’s victory: A political earthquake that reflects a changed boston

The morning after her upset political victory, Ayanna Pressley ascended a stage in Dorchester a few blocks from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, greeting activists who had gathered to unify the party and to see a trailblazer — black, female, Bostonian — now poised to assume the old J.F.K. congressional seat.

“This is a tribal and parochial place,” Ms. Pressley, 44, said Wednesday, surrounded by Boston political leaders old and new as she ruminated on the hurdles that others said would prevent her from winning…The campaign did not have the money or the inclination to air traditional broadcast television ads, which would not have been able to successfully target people in the district. Instead, it ran one Spanish-speaking ad on Telemundo and used other local ethnic media to reach their audience.

“Our strategy was to expand the electorate and ignite the base,” said Wilnelia Rivera, a political strategist who has long worked with Ms. Pressley. “We trained new activists to engage in a new form of political campaign and to reach the pool of people who don’t normally vote.”

candidates of color break new ground in the contest for campaign cash

It has long been a fact of Boston politics that inner-city minority candidates, representing poorer, largely black and brown constituents, can’t raise large amounts of campaign money…Judging by campaign finance reports filed this week, however, that longstanding truism might no longer be true.

“This is more than just one cycle,” says Wilnelia Rivera, general consultant for Ayanna Pressley’s congressional campaign. “This is the cycle that we’re seeing at scale the lessons we’ve been learning for years.” Part of the change is coming from within the communities, as black and Hispanic residents are becoming more willing to contribute to political campaigns—and the candidates and campaign professionals are becoming more skilled at convincing them to do so.“Donors realize they’re giving money to the Democratic Party, and being told these candidates are not ‘viable,’” Rivera says. “They’re trying to figure out how to have a real progressive majority. This is really a debate of ideas about the direction of the party.”

pressley a one-of-a-kind public servant

While her opponent talked about the billions he brought back home, and his experience, she spoke of what she saw in front of her as she rode the Number One bus from Harvard Square to Dudley and saw life expectancy drop.

Unfairness and inequality were two words that were huge in this race. People saw inequity played out before them. Kids in cages. A president who could care less about people and told you so.

To win this race, Ayanna needed to have votes from everyone across the board and that she got.

Millennials ran her campaign and started a movement for change that brought others into the fold — all working, all together for another word with meaning — change. Many seasoned leaders created a kitchen cabinet of community leaders,who helped gauge the pulse of the community. Technology combined with shoe leather and old-fashioned organizing won the day.

Tomorrow, the real work begins.

Urban Newcomers Respond To Candidates Who Make Them Feel Like Part Of A Movement

"Perhaps more importantly, even some Pressley supporters concede that her campaign has not yet developed the organizational reach she needs, to win over the millennial left while also firing up turnout in black communities. Her ability to transform the new attention into effective field deployment in the final two months before the primary will test her team, particularly campaign manager Sarah Groh and consultant Wilnelia Rivera.

And besides, it’s not as if 2018 has been a terror for Democratic incumbents. Crowley is the only one to be defeated this year, after more than 300 congressional district primaries.

Regardless, the Ocasio-Cortez victory has demonstrated that the new, young urban voter is a powerful and growing force. They will undoubtedly have a say in choosing Boston’s next district attorney. Up in Lawrence, Lowell, and Haverhill they may be decisive in the primary to replace Niki Tsongas in Congress. And their representatives, whoever they may be, will soon be making real waves in Washington."

POLITICAL NewCOMER FROM NEW YORK with ties has new england ties

Pressley, who has become friendly with Ocasio-Cortez prefers to think of this race as a movement where she is championing the values of the people in the district, one of the most diverse in the country.

Wilnelia Rivera, Senior Advisor to Ayanna Pressley campaign explains the resistance to change, “Our first reaction is that the message is working…even in the movement you’re going to have some folks who are not a 100% with you but at least we are going to create a space for us to be uncomfortable together."

To watch the full NECN interview, click here.

Michael Capuano and Ayanna Pressley: What’s the difference?

On abortion rights, she says, she would go further than Capuano by working to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding of most abortions.

And she said she would be a more effective advocate for immigrants by pushing for in-state tuition rates for undocumented students at public colleges and universities.

To crystallize the point, Wilnelia Rivera, Pressley’s political consultant, said: “The overarching message is the difference between a reliable vote and a champion.”

Pressley launches bid for congressional seat

“The residents of this district deserve a choice,” Pressley told her supporters. “The people of the 7th Congressional District aren’t concerned about the political inconvenience of any one man or woman and neither am I. What concerns me is the daily uneasiness, stress and worry of many folks in this room and many more beyond — longtime district residents are up at night wondering if one day soon they’ll be pushed out of the neighborhoods they cherish.”- 

Veteran campaign strategist Wilnelia Rivera, who is serving as the Pressley campaign general manager, says her effort will focus on one-on-one contact with voters in the district.

“We’re excited to build a grassroots movement to talk to voters across this district,” she said.

Pressley Challenge To Capuano Takes Heart From New York Upset

"The upset primary victory in New York of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress is raising the question of whether Ayanna Pressley can do the same thing in Boston. 

Pressley is challenging longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano.

Both challengers are women of color. Ocasio-Cortez is Latina. Pressley is African-American.

Both are pledging to eliminate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency in charge of deporting people in the country unlawfully.

Both happen to be graduates of Boston University.

Pressley said on Radio Boston Wednesday that she's inspired by Ocasio-Cortez.

"She has been fearless and fierce in her convictions, and she has challenged and disrupted every conventional narrative about who has a right to run and who can win," said Pressley."

Join the conversation on twitter

Learn how to engage in powerful political giving that resources women and communities of color with Wilnelia Rivera

watch the Case for Boston on wgbh and read more here

Visit Current Projects for a sampling of Client projects