Senator José Santiago Rivera - Contact Information

He was born in Comerío, Puerto Rico, on August 27, 1957. He is a product of the public school system, including the Residential Center for Educational Opportunities of Mayagüez (CROEM). He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in accounting, from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, in 1979. In August of that same year, he began his professional career in public service, holding a position as a municipal official in his native Comerío until 1992. In 1993, he became a Special Assistant to Mayor José E. Aponte De La Torre (R.I.P.) until 2000, the year he was elected Mayor of Comerío, a position he held for six (6) consecutive terms (2001-2024). He was President of the Mayors Association of Puerto Rico (2009-2014) and served as President of the Latin American Federation of Cities, Municipalities, and Local Associations (FLACMA), an organization representing over 12,000 municipalities in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean (2017-18). In 2019, he was chosen by FLACMA as Latin American Mayor of the Year during the international event Experiencia Puerto Rico. Under his tenure as Mayor, the Municipality of Comerío was recognized by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for achieving the most successful recycling program, diverting more than 50% of the solid waste generated in his town for reuse. Similarly, the Office of the Comptroller distinguished him for achieving audits without any findings. After 24 consecutive years of operating his municipality with a surplus, the 2024 financial statement evaluation report of the 78 municipalities, conducted by the independent organization ABRE Puerto Rico, recognized the Municipal Government of Comerío as one of the 10 municipalities with the best fiscal health in Puerto Rico. He is currently a Senator at Large and chairs the Municipal Affairs Committee of the Senate of Puerto Rico. In his personal life, he has been married for 45 years to Ramona Nieves Reyes, with whom he has built a family of four (4) children and seven (7) grandchildren.