Rivera, who dropped out of his own race for City Council to pursue a job with the administration, emailed supporters to say he was joining Gioia’s campaign to do Hispanic outreach.

Rivera wrote:

“As you know, I was a strong supporter of President Barack Obama and this was due in great part to his message of hope, change but primarily because of his belief that "change happens from the bottom up, when ordinary people get involved." This is why I am very excited to inform you that as of today, I am joining Eric Gioia’s campaign for Public Advocate.”

“I’ve decided to pursue a position in the administration. Not that there’s an offer, but it’s hard to do two things at the same time,” Rivera told me in a brief telephone interview. “I wanted to be clear on what my intentions were.”

Baez still faces a number of candidates looking to unseat her—fueled in part by her support of former Bronx Democratic leader Jose Rivera, who was ousted in a coup last year. Baez has also been criticized for her performance in the district and at City Hall.

Among the contenders raising money for the race against Baez are Yesenia Polanco, who took a leave from her job as the chief of staff to Councilwoman Annabel Palma of the Bronx, and Yudelka Tapia, who works as an auditor for the city comptroller.

Rivera sent a letter to Silver's office in December raising the issue, and is now threatening action against Silver.

"If this does not change by the next session, I will be make sure that the Speaker hears the voice of Latinos," Rivera wrote in a letter to Silver sent yesterday. "We will pay him a visit at his home and his office. Maybe then will the Speaker give Latinos the opportunity we have earned in the state. In the meantime, I would like to remind the Speaker that the 64th district has undergone some demographic shifts since he was first elected and elections are every 2 years, not in four or six."

The deputy speaker's post went to Assemblywoman Earlene Hooper of Long Island.

Assemblyman Peter Rivera, chairman of the chamber's Hispanic task force, said he was offered the post but "had no interest in it."

"Really, the prestigious spots are committee chairs, and Latinos have four leadership positions,"  he said. Additionally, Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo was named as the chair of state / federal relations.

Haile Rivera says that diversity of representation is a huge issue for him, and said that since the leadership of a body sets the committee chairs, equal representation was not possible without a seat near the top.

He pledged that if elected, his council office would mirror the ethnic diversity of the 14th District. The seat is currently held by Maria Baez.

Enough that State Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem muttered to himself at the podium, “Oh man, we’re going to have to mix this up a bit.” He then introduced state Senator Eric Adams--who's from Brooklyn.

The issue of diversity was on the minds of some rally organizers, like the president of the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association Norman Seabrook. He pointed to two white women at the rally and told another organizer, “I want these two women right behind the podium.” They later got bumped aside for those who were speaking.

Elected officials who spoke included City Councilman Al Vann, Assembly Members Karim Camara and Hakeem Jeffries, State Senator John Sampson and former Congressman Major Owens. All from Brooklyn.

Former Manhattan City Councilwoman Ronnie Eldridge also spoke. Referring to the Democratic primary field she said, “mostly the candidates are all the same. And experience doesn’t count that much because after all, we had Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, and they had killed, they had 78,000 young men killed in Vietnam. What does count is the spirit and ability to inspire people.”

Organizers also brough Ashley Craig to the podium. The 42-year-old stay-at-home mother of three from Westchester left the Republican Party to support Obama.

She told me after the rally, “He [Obama] works very nicely for them [Republicans].” She went on to say, “Republicans may not agree with him as much as they don’t want to lose to Hillary Clinton, but at the same time, they realize they need to readjust their message.”

During my chat with Craig, Seabrook grabbed her to make sure she was interviewed by NY1.

Rivera seems to have been mesmerized by Obama, which I guess is bound to happen when you get to have dinner with a presidential candidate after donating just $5.

Here's part of his dispatch:

“As he greeted us, he did so with a sincere, normal smile (one of those that you know was not prepped in advance), a firm handshake and a "Hi, nice to meet you." He thanked us for coming (as if we[sic] an invitation from him could be turned down).”

He adds, “I concluded by inviting him to the Bronx and letting him know that next time, dinner was on me.”

"This dinner is about hearing from the everyday experts like Haile on how we can work together to change the problems like our broken education system and the need to give a helping hand to the people who need it most," said Obama in a statement.  "Haile's commitment to giving back to his community by helping prepare the next generation of leaders is what changing this country is all about." 

The campaign described Rivera, who blogs on Room 8, as a community program specialist who "feels that Barack Obama understands the importance of increasing employment and education opportunities for minorities."

In July, Rivera will sit around the dinner table at a Washington DC restaurant with Obama, a miner from Nevada, a working mother from California and a former Republican firefighter from Florida.