councilman Joel Rivera (
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They may not know him, but Joel R. Rivera bets that voters know the name.
He’s one of seven Democratic candidates vying for the seat being vacated by term-limited City Councilman Joel Rivera, causing an identity crisis in The Bronx.
He’s “banking on fooling people,” a Bronx political source told The Post.
Rivera — the candidate — is a 35-year-old community liaison for city Comptroller John Liu. His dad is the Rev. Dr. Raymond Rivera, who leads a large evangelical congregation with four churches and runs three charter schools.
Joel Rivera — the councilman — is the 34-year-old majority leader of the council and son of former Bronx Democratic Party boss and current Assemblyman José Rivera.
The candidate refers to himself as the “Hon. Joel Rivera” on his campaign’s Facebook page — even though he’s never held elected office.
His Web site, campaign literature and 5,000 posters conveniently leave out his photo or feature faded images. And he doesn’t use his middle initial.
Rivera the elected official says so many people mistake him for Rivera the candidate that he’s now taken to calling himself “the real Joel Rivera.”
Residents of his district, which includes Belmont, Bathgate and University Heights, keep coming up to him to promise him support.
“I’m not up for re-election this year,” he explains over and over again.
“I see your posters!” they say.
He carefully explains term limits — and the other guy named Joel Rivera.
“It’s always nice to hear your name. Everybody loves to hear their name,” he said. “What’s not flattering is that there is a level of disinformation being put out there.”
Councilman Rivera says he supports his chief of staff, Albert Alvarez, 45, in the race to succeed him.
Rivera the candidate concedes, “Name recognition will help me a little bit, but it’s definitely not the main focus of my campaign.
“My family legacy is just as strong as the other Rivera family,” he added.
He will not apologize for jumping into a political race with a noteworthy name.
“One out of every four people in The Bronx has the name Rivera,” he said. “No one has exclusivity over this name.”