Councillors present motion to extend City Council, School Committee terms to four years

By Barbara Taormina

Revere City Council President Anthony Cogliandro and Councillors Marc Silvestri, Joanne McKenna, and Angela Guarino-Sawaya presented a proposal this week to extend, like the mayor’s, the terms of city councillors and school committee members from two to four years. More specifically, they wanted to ask City Solicitor Paul Capizzi to draft special legislation to provide for four-year terms beginning with the 2027 municipal election.

“I need four years,” said Guarino-Sawaya, who added that campaigning for reelection took time and energy away from addressing the needs of residents.

Cogliandro added that four-year terms would give councillors more time to work on long-term projects and comprehensive policies. He also said it would allow councillors to build stronger relationships with one another, other city leaders and constituents. Cogliandro also suggested it would ease voter fatigue. And he added that he had spoken to members of the school committee and they were in favor of the idea.

But several residents balked at the idea of extended terms. Viviana Cataño, who was at the meeting with a group of residents opposed to recreational marijuana, said she was glad about the timing of the motion so it could be nipped in the bud. Cataño described two-year terms as part of a system of checks and balances. “It’s important for councillors to remember we elect you to represent our voice,” she said. “If people like how you’re voting, then you’re going to be here.”

A Beachland Avenue resident said that four-year terms are not appropriate. “We don’t feel represented by many of you,” she said. “Let’s keep it at two years and go from there.”

Another resident, Christine Robinson, questioned whether a ballot question was in order since extending terms requires a charter change. Cogliandro said a vote isn’t necessarily required.

Anthony Cantino, who frequently attends Council meetings, made his way to the podium and began his opinion about extending term limits with a remark about the lack of public comment earlier in the night. Cogliandro asked him to keep to the motion about term extensions but Cantino kept speaking. Cogliandro asked him to stay on topic and banged his gavel, citing that the speaker was out of order, but Cantino continued. Finally, Cogliandro called for an officer to remove him from the City Council Chambers. A win for order and efficiency but maybe not the best look for councillors looking to extend their terms.

Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto had doubts about the motion and said not many cities have four-year terms. He proposed an alternative motion: that the Council seek advice from Capizzi about the term extension and the procedure to enact it. City Clerk Ashley Melnik explained the home rule petition process that goes through the City Council and the Mayor’s Office to the Legislature.

Zambuto said he didn’t think the Council was at the point to ask for legislation since it isn’t clear how much support the idea has with the Council. Instead, he proposed sending the motion to the Legislative Affairs Subcommittee as the next step. The motion for four-year terms was referred to the Legislative Affairs Subcommittee.