WORCESTER, Mass. - Tuesday night was the last city council meeting for the year in Worcester, and it also marked the last meeting for outgoing District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera.

Rivera was first elected in 2011. She said at the time that she was the only person of color in the local governmental delegation. She was also the first Latina elected to the council, the longest serving woman of color and one of the longest serving District 4 councilors.

Rivera said she chose not to run again to spend time honoring her son and focusing on her health equity work. After 12 years on the city council, she said she feels good about the work she's done in Worcester.

“The South Worcester Industrial Park, which really helped to take a blighted area, put it back on the tax rolls, have businesses, create jobs right in the community and keep businesses local,” Rivera said. “I would definitely say doing not only the TIFF policy but the TIFF ordinance, really looking at the CHIP, the Community Health Improvement Plan – which really had us very well prepared. Who knew we were going to have to deal with a pandemic?”

Rivera said even though her time on the council has come to an end, she's not done serving the city of Worcester.

“I’m still going to be working in the community,” she said. “I tell people, everything I love to do; I’m still going to be doing. I was a very active leader in the community prior to being on council, and as I continue my work as an ordained minister and as a senior administrator for a medical company working on health equity, I think I’m going to be doing a lot of stuff that I normally do. I’m still in a lot of committees and organizations.”

Luis Ojeda will fill Rivera's District 4 seat in the new year.