“We Don’t Need You to Speak for Us. We Already Have a Voice”
Adrian Rivera-Reyes is a cancer biologist and democratic socialist running for Philadelphia’s city council today. In an interview, he talks about growing up in Puerto Rico under US colonialism, organizing a union with his coworkers at UPenn, and bringing activist pressure to city hall.
Adrian Rivera-Reyes, a candidate for Philadelphia city council.Image via rivera2019.com
Adrian Rivera-Reyes is running for Philadelphia city council at-large in the Democratic primary, which often functions as the de facto election in the strongly Democratic city. He is one of the more than twenty-eight candidates running for the at-large seats in the Democratic primary, five of whom with the most votes will run as Democratic nominees in the November election.
A native of Puerto Rico who came to Philadelphia to pursue a PhD in cancer biology, Rivera-Reyes is a Philadelphia Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member who is running on a left-wing platform targeting the crises of climate change, unaffordable housing, and inadequate funding for public education.
Rivera-Reyes sat down for an interview with Ronald Raju Joseph, a Philadelphia and BuxMont DSA organizer. The transcript has been edited and condensed.
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