Council votes against supporting robo calls for cannabis hearings

By Barbara Taormina

Councillor-At-Large Michelle Kelley’s motion that city officials dial up a city-wide robo call to residents to inform them of the date and time of any hearing to repeal Revere’s ban on recreational marijuana establishments didn’t seem particularly difficult or controversial.

Given the community’s vocal opposition to the cannabis industry and the council’s reverence for civic engagement, a phone call to ensure residents had the information needed to voice their opinions seemed like a piece of regular housekeeping.

But the council voted 9 to 1 against the proposal with only Kelley voting in favor of her own motion.

When she first proposed the robo call, several councillors raised the question of cost. That led Kelley to dive into the economics. As it turns out, the city has an $18,000 robo call contract which gets Revere 18 robo calls. Kelley said that in 2024, there have been 16 robo calls so there’s room for a marijuana call.

But councillors had other objections. Councillor-At-Large Anthony Zambuto, a self-described stickler for rules, said he opposed the motion because it ran afoul of council procedure although he was not specific on how the motion skirted the rules.

Council President Anthony Cogliandro said that while he initially supported the motion, he has since come to believe that the mandated robo call could be opening a Pandora’s box that could interfere with future council business.