Cheryl Coakley-Rivera began her political career as Cheryl Rivera, running successfully for the state House of Representatives in 1998, following the death of Anthony M. Scibelli, who had held the seat for 40 years.
Coakley-Rivera represents the 10th Hampden district in her hometown of Springfield. She is currently Chair of the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities.
The daughter of the late Barbara Coakley Rivera, the founder and longtime director of the New North Citizens Council, Coakley-Rivera is an attorney, a graduate of Western New England College School of Law (1995). She earned her undergraduate degree at Northeastern University. Coakley-Rivera's political career began on the Springfield Park Commission in 1988; she chaired the commission and remained a member until 2000.
A lesbian, Coakley-Rivera made headlines when she came out publicly in 2004, telling a crowd gathered in support of gay marriage, "I don't have to introduce myself … I'm gay."
