Council Candidates Are Running Hard To Capture At-large Seats

By Sue Ellen Woodcock

Candidates for the Councillor-At-Large race are pounding the pavement, holding signs and working feverishly to get the word that they are serious about winning one of the five seats on the Revere City Council.

With the election on Nov. 3 there are 10 candidates vying for five, two-year seats, incumbents and newcomers alike. Incumbents Anthony Zambuto, Robert Haas Jr., Jessica Giannino, and Steve Morabito know what it takes to get a seat on the council and they also appreciate the competition from the other six candidates looking for a seat in the council chambers. The challengers are no strangers to politics. Incumbents George Rotondo, Priscilla Nickerson, Michael Falzone, Matt Amato, John Correggio and Edward O’Hara have to go all out to snag a seat on the council.

Giannino, the top vote getter in the preliminary garnered 2,678 votes, a number that puts her in the range of the two mayoral candidates. “My plan is to continue to work hard and listen to the people of Revere.” Of course, she’s thought about running for mayor but for now she’d like to concentrate on furthering her education while she serves on the city council and work for what’s best for the community.

Haas, who has one of the longest political histories in the race said he’s relying on an election standard…holding signs, walking the streets, and meeting the voters.

“The key is having open government,” Haas said. “I’m not flamboyant and I think people respect that. I speak when I have to and I think people appreciate it. They know I’m honest. There’s no substitute for hard work.”

For Morabito his focus is “running the most intensive campaign he can think of.”

He’s running a fundraiser dinner dance on Sept. 25 at the Beachmont VFW from 6-10 p.m.

“The key (to running for office) is having a strong support system and I am surrounded by good people,” Morabito said. “I’m running a vigorous campaign and getting a lot of face time with the voters.”

For Zambuto, who has been on the city council for 16 years, getting ready for the election encompasses door to door work, mailings, sign holding and fundraising, but his biggest tool is putting his “heart and soul” into his council work.

“I’m looking out for the taxpayers,” he said. “I have a record.”

One of his greatest accomplishments has been the building of the public safety facility. Another has been changing the special permit process so that one cannot be immediately obtained right after the public hearing.

“This way the project sees the sunlight of scruntiny with no surprises like years ago,” Zambuto said.

Incumbents tend to have a taller mountain to climb, but Rotondo showed well in the preliminary election with 2,505 votes. In the past he’s run for mayor and served on the city council.

“You can hold signs all you want but it’s when you go door to door you find the real issues,” Rotondo said. “I have a wide range of support.”

He plans on holding a fundraiser on Oct. 15 from 7-10 p.m. at the Beachmont VFW.

Falzone plans to do some heavy canvassing of the city and talking with people about economic development and how to make it work in Revere. He said the antiquated ways of doing things in Revere need to be addressed.

“The process is not streamlined. City Hall is not streamlined,” Falzone said. “I’m a big advocate of wise, balanced development.”

He plans on a fundraiser in October but hasn’t finalized the details yet.

Amato, a newcomer to politics but not Revere, said his biggest challenge is name recognition. He has a tentative fundraiser set for Sept. 27. In the meantime he’s been going door to door and sending out mailers. He’s spent the last five years in Madagascar working with the Peace Corps.

“You get out what you put in,” he said of his campaign work.

For Nickerson the campaign involves door to door work and getting her name out. She’s spent a lot of time doing work to better the city.

“I enjoy keeping moving and I love to see the results,” she said, adding that many of the things she’s worked on for the city involves grant money, not taxpayers dollars. She’s focusing on running a positive campaign that brings people together for the betterment of the community.

O’Hara, a former School Committee member and city councillor, said “I’m working on something and will let you know in a couple of weeks.”

As of press time Tuesday only Correggio had not commented on the race.

The election is Nov. 3 with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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