SACRAMENTO, California — The brother of California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas allegedly stirred up drama at the Democratic National Convention in August, name-dropping his powerful sibling to secure prime seating and berating delegates.
An official code of conduct complaint, obtained by POLITICO, was filed with the California Democratic Party over his behavior at the Chicago convention. Three attendees, including one who was granted anonymity for fear of retribution, described Rick Rivas’ demeanor at the convention as inappropriate, aggressive and erratic, and two of them noted that he repeatedly said, “I’m the brother of the speaker.”
The party deemed the complaint bona fide but found that it did not warrant further investigation. Rick Rivas did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Rick Rivas has long been his brother’s most trusted political adviser — and as he ascended to the heights of public office — one of his biggest liabilities. The speaker has been scrutinized for his brother’s proximity to his political career and has often had to answer awkward questions about his sibling’s influence on his decision-making.
Robert Rivas has, repeatedly, denied that his brother, a high-ranking political strategist for the American Beverage Association, wields any leverage in his office.
The complaint, submitted by Jonathan Padilla, a delegate from San Jose, was reviewed by party officials, who decided not to take any additional action. Emails between Padilla and the party ombudsperson, obtained by POLITICO, indicated that because Rick Rivas was not alleged to have discriminated based on a protected category, like race or ethnicity, the allegations raised by Padilla did not violate the party’s code of conduct — but that Padilla was protected against retaliation for filing a bona fide complaint.
“The California Democratic Party takes all inquiries of violations of our Code of Conduct seriously and has a thorough process through an Ombudsperson to address complaints,” Robin Swanson, a spokesperson for the party, said in a statement. “In this case, the full complaint was reviewed by the Ombudsperson and determined that this incident did not merit further investigation.”
But the people who spoke to POLITICO say the DNC incident raises questions about the role Rick Rivas plays in the office of the Assembly speaker.
A campaign spokesperson for Robert Rivas responded to questions from POLITICO with a statement.
“The Speaker respects the CA Dem Party process and this complaint was found to have no merit over two months ago,” Elizabeth Ashford said. “He didn’t attend the convention and he has not been involved in this matter.”
While Rick Rivas is not a registered lobbyist, the American Beverage Association does regularly lobby on bills before the Legislature. The speaker’s brother in the past has also come under scrutiny for his work with Govern for California, a sprawling donor network that seeks to counter “special interest influence” over government. The group has faced scrutiny for its practices, including funneling millions of dollars to the campaigns of assemblymembers, including Robert Rivas.
Padilla, who filed the complaint, is a longtime supporter of former San Jose Mayor and Representative-elect Sam Liccardo, and works in the tech sector. This year he helped organize crypto Democrats in support of Harris. Padilla was also behind a high-profile vote recount in the primary contest between Liccardo, Assemblymember Evan Low and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, and he has worked on an independent expenditure committee in support of Liccardo’s congressional bid this year.
His 1,100-word complaint, obtained by POLITICO, offers a scathing narrative of Rick Rivas’ conduct and chastises the speaker for tacitly sanctioning such behavior.
“The guy was acting like a bully,” he said in an interview.
The complaint alleges a series of interactions Padilla had with the speaker’s brother at the nominating convention for Vice President Kamala Harris in August. Padilla claimed he was awaiting a speech from Gov. Tim Walz on the floor of the United Center when Rick Rivas arrived, introduced himself as the speaker’s brother, and tried to take the seats Padilla was saving. The dispute involved Rick Rivas knocking Padilla’s belongings to the floor, raising his voice, and at one point trying to sit on him, the complaint says.
Rick Rivas had traveled there, as had a small delegation of California legislators, while his brother stayed back to carry on the final weeks of the legislative session. He allegedly told Padilla he needed the seats for the speaker and Dolores Huerta, the labor icon who has close ties with the Rivas brothers and was also in attendance at the DNC.
Over the course of the evening, Padilla alleges, Rivas continued to cause a commotion — unwantedly touching him on the shoulder, berating him over political differences, and disrupting other delegates by repeatedly coming in and out of the aisle.
The complaint says Rick Rivas also loudly disparaged San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan for his support of Proposition 36, a controversial crime measure that the speaker opposed and that had divided Democrats.
“Most of his actions he justified by saying, ‘I’m the speaker’s brother,’ which sticks in my head,” said Padilla, who alerted party officials, including Chair Rusty Hicks, to Rick Rivas’ behavior in person the next day and filed the formal complaint. “If I had a brother who was acting like that using my name, I would be pretty upset.”
Two of the attendees told POLITICO they saw similar behavior the same night and the following one.
Delegate Bob Mulholland, in an interview with POLITICO, said he was sitting with Padilla and recalled Rick Rivas using “inappropriate” language and stepping on his wife’s toes as he brought people in and out of the aisle.
Rick Rivas was “more like a fraternity brother who thought he could get away with just pushing people around or yelling at them or something,” Mulholland said. “It was not a good situation.”
“I thought: ‘God almighty, why would the speaker allow this to happen?’” he added.
After POLITICO reached out to the California Democratic Party and the speaker’s representative regarding this story, Padilla alleged without evidence in a follow-up complaint to the party ombudsperson that he was pressured by the Rivas camp to retract his original complaint, with Liccardo acting as the intermediary. He said Liccardo told him that continuing with the story would be politically devastating to both him and Mahan.
Liccardo at one point called Padilla and left a voicemail asking to have a conversation about “cooling it” with the allegations against Rick Rivas.
“I don’t love that guy either, but this whole thing can blow up in a really bad way, both for Matt [Mahan] and me, in terms of a relationship with his brother,” Liccardo said in the voicemail that Padilla played for POLITICO.
Liccardo, in an interview with POLITICO, confirmed that he had sent the voicemail, but said he never pressured Padilla to rescind the complaint, nor did Rick Rivas or the speaker ever reach out asking him to intercede on their behalf. His primary concern, he said, was to avoid being dragged into a story about “some kind of silly scuffle” in the media.
”As for Rick, I can say that I’ve never met the man, I’ve talked to him over the phone no more than three times in my life, and I have no reason to know whether JP’s account of his behavior is true or false,” Liccardo added in a text message.
Ashford said there is no truth to the accusation that someone from the Rivas camp tried to intimidate Padilla or Liccardo over the complaint.
“Just like the original meritless complaint, there is absolutely no truth to this accusation,” she said in a statement. “It is a fiction.”
Padilla then went to the party ombudsperson, John Trasviña, and asked for formal protection from retaliation. A spokesperson for the California Democratic Party confirmed it received Padilla’s second complaint alleging retaliation and that the ombudsperson is reviewing it, as of Thursday.
Mahan, in a statement, said he has a productive relationship with the speaker and is confident they will continue working together for the sake of the state.
“Regarding Prop 36, while we do not see eye to eye on it, I believe we have an honest disagreement over the policy merits and I know we will work collaboratively to implement the will of the voters,” Mahan said in the statement. “I look forward to working with the Speaker to make our state safer, more affordable, and to bring every homeless resident indoors.”
Dan Schnur, former chair of the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission and an expert on government ethics, reviewed the complaint and said the dispute between Rick and Padilla is “not illegal. It’s not appropriate. It’s not uncommon.”
“Normally this type of back and forth occurs between the two parties, but in a one-party state, the warfare becomes internecine,” he said.
When asked about Rick’s position at the American Beverage Association, Schnur reiterated that the dynamics are typical for politics and noted these are similar to accusations made against President Joe Biden’s brother James over the years.
The American Beverage Association in a statement said: “This complaint has been dismissed. Rick is a valuable member of the American Beverage team who represents us well – including at the Convention – and is a great advocate in the state of California.”
Rick Rivas’ presence has been a recurring source of intrigue around the Capitol, with the speaker’s closest allies in the Legislature describing him as a quintessential operator. His pugnacious demeanor is well known in Sacramento and California political circles. One consultant, who crossed paths with Rick Rivas during an Assembly campaign, described an incident where he called them and screamed obscenities for 45 minutes. The consultant was granted anonymity for fear of retribution.
The DNC fracas over Rick Rivas’ behavior troubled the three people who discussed it with POLITICO because they say he used his connection to Robert Rivas to seek preferential treatment. And Padilla is frustrated that state Democratic officials didn’t reprimand him for the incident in Chicago.
Padilla said Rick “ruined” his experience at the convention and left him with a negative view of the speaker.
“I left with the impression that this was normal activity for him,” he wrote. “Which is quite scary if an unelected brother of a high ranking legislative and party official justifies belligerent behavior.”
State Sen. Josh Becker, who was also in attendance at the DNC, reached out to POLITICO regarding this story to share that Rick Rivas was “well-behaved and professional” at the convention, and that he saved a seat for him and walked him into the arena.
“I was very grateful,” Becker said.
Ashford forwarded statements from three people attending the convention who said they were with Rick Rivas on the floor and did not witness any incidents, describing him as happy, composed and professional.
Another California Democrat who attended the convention said they saw similar behavior from Rick the following night, ahead of Harris’ closing speech.
The attendee, who was granted anonymity for fear of retribution, said there was a lot of commotion on the floor among people trying to secure one of the limited number of seats for the historic event. He observed the younger Rivas “shouting at multiple people” as he tried to claim seats for Assembly members and “playing the ‘I’m the brother of the speaker’ card.”
“Rick acted chaotic and erratic multiple nights,” the attendee said. “He was shouting and being very loud and obnoxious.”
In 2023, shortly before his inauguration into one of the state’s most powerful offices, the speaker emphasized in an interview that he’s always drawn a line between his work and that of his brother.
“He’s one of my closest advisers. He’s always been, and that’s never going to change,” Robert Rivas said. But, he added, “I have always known those ethical and legal lines that must be maintained. And that is never going to change.”
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