~ ELECTION 2023 ~ Public safety, new high school and overdevelopment key issues in Dan Rizzo’s campaign for mayor

By Barbara Taormina

He’s been there, done it, and Councillor-At-Large Dan Rizzo is looking to be the mayor of Revere again come November.

It’s a four-man race of sitting city councillors, with Rizzo competing against Acting Mayor Patrick Keefe, Councillor-At-Large Gerry Visconti and Councillor-At-Large Steven Morabito. Veteran mayoral candidate Cheryl Whittredge is also in the race.

Rizzo served as mayor from 2012 to 2016 and was defeated in his bid for reelection by Brian Arrigo. He has plenty of accomplishments to tout from that term but at the top of the list are strides in public safety.

“Back then, we had 84 police officers in the city,” said Rizzo in an interview with The Advocate. “I brought that up to 104, and we had a significant reduction in crime.”

But today, Rizzo feels the police department is “dangerously understaffed” and has gone from proactive to reactive. He favors having a full-time social services officer to deal with some city issues and problems among residents.

“We are at a crossroad in society on how we handle issues. We can only do what we can do, but we can at least do our part to be part of the solution.”

His views on police and public safety are part of his central campaign theme that city services have not kept up with what he describes as the city’s “overdevelopment.” He is critical of the zoning board of appeals and feels variances for development are being rubber stamped.

“It’s important to match services with the needs of the city,” he said adding he intends to get to the point where the city is providing adequate services.

He sees the ongoing development and financial strains as challenges to providing what residents need and expect.

The new high school is a major issue and Rizzo admits he’s been part of the heated discussions about the project.  He favors building on the existing site. He said the misinformation about eminent domain being needed at the existing site and the cost of the project have been frustrating.

Rizzo called the Wonderland site and the pending eminent domain lawsuit a “wildcard.”

“That’s something we need to figure out with the city and the former owners,” he said.

In 1986, Rizzo launched Rizzo Insurance Group with his brother and father. His decades in business have given him a practical outlook on municipal finance issues. He calls local government a common-sense affair, nothing more, nothing less. Rizzo is critical about the way the city has deployed some of its resources.

“There’s tremendous talent in the public works department but we’re contracting out far too much work and paying top dollar to subcontractors,” he said. “There are a lot of services we can bring in house.”

He also questions the way the Revere has handled the development of the Haas Wellness Center and the fact that the city is paying thousands of dollars for a building in which nothing is happening.

As mayor, Rizzo established Revere’s first stabilization fund which increased the city’s bond rating and led to a lower tax rate for residents. He is committed to meeting the demands of daily life for residents without piling on with increased taxes, fines and fees.

“You can’t tax people into the Stone Age,” he said.

Rizzo is also concerned with the way people view local government.

“Residents are disenchanted with the way they are treated by city hall,” he said. “People want to be talked with not talked at. We have to provide solutions.”

He said there is a lot of responsibility in being an elected official but you also need humility. For Rizzo, it’s important to reach out to other people who may have good ideas and he believes an emphasis on collaboration will bring a different tone to Revere’s leadership.

“I consider myself a good team player,” he said. “We need a group effort to collaborate for the benefit of residents.”

He wants to try an make the community a little more harmonious. “We need to get back to a city that has a lot of community spirit,” he said.

Rizzo has plenty of that. For him, everything important, family, friends and business is in the city. As mayor, he promises to represent residents the way he would want to be represented and to treat them the way he would like to be treated.

As Rizzo put it, “I know no other way.”