Richard J. Chivaro
The man who was in the room — and decided to tell you what happened there.
Richard J. Chivaro spent the better part of his career at the center of state government — not as an elected official, but as something far more consequential: the person who made things actually work. He served in senior advisory and operational roles across multiple administrations, navigating the intersection of policy, politics, and power with a clarity that few insiders ever develop.
He was present for decisions that shaped the lives of millions. He sat in rooms where the real negotiations happened — not the public hearings, not the press conferences, but the conversations that determined what would actually be done and who would bear the cost of it.
For years, he kept what he knew to himself. The culture of state government demands discretion, and Chivaro respected that culture — until he decided the public deserved to understand what it had been paying for.
Senior State Government Official
Served in senior advisory and operational roles across multiple administrations
Policy Architect
Directly involved in shaping legislation and regulatory frameworks affecting millions
Decades of Firsthand Experience
Unparalleled access to the inner workings of state-level governance
Trusted Accountability Voice
Now committed to transparency and public understanding of how government truly operates
The Story Behind the Book
The First Chair began not as a book, but as a private reckoning. Chivaro had watched the public narrative of government drift further and further from the reality he had lived — and he grew tired of the gap.
"People deserve to know how their government actually works," he has said. "Not the version that gets written up in press releases, but the version that happens in the hallways, in the parking lots, in the phone calls that never get logged. That's the version I can tell."
The result is a book that is neither a political attack nor an apology — it is a witness account, written with the precision of someone who was there and the conscience of someone who believes the public has a right to know.