Councillors support motion for citywide message boards promoting Election Day

By Barbara Taormina

The Revere City Council supported a motion from Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna that the Police Department place electronic message boards around the city reminding residents there is an election and to vote on Tuesday, November 4. It has been a quiet election cycle with most of the campaigns playing out on people’s front porches as candidates stump door-to-door.

Turnout in Revere for elections with no mayoral or presidential race has been low. Even in 2023, with the hotly contested mayoral race been Mayor Patrick Keefe and former City Councillor Dan Rizzo, only 31 percent of the city’s registered voters turned out. Back in 2021, with no big races on the ballot, only 20 percent of the electorate went to the polls.

Election Commissioner Danielle Pietrantonio said 200 people have come in to vote early and there were 1,700 requests for mail-in ballots. As of Tuesday, Oct. 28, 940 Revere voters have cast early ballots.

This year’s races for both City Council  and School Committee are heavy with incumbents. Five of the eight at-large candidates are councillors seeking reelection. The only race for a ward councillor seat is in ward 1; incumbents are running unopposed in the other wards.

This year, the School Committee begins electing ward representatives. Most of those races are either unopposed incumbents or unopposed candidates. The at-large School Committee race is a slate of four candidates, three of whom — Stacey Bronson-Rizzo, John Kingston and Frederick Sannella — are incumbents. Ralph DeCicco is also in the race. Voters select two of the four.

There is one nonbinding ballot question — asking voters if they feel the City Council  should consider repealing the ban on recreational marijuana establishments in Revere. Councillors have been inclined to revisit the question, in part because of the potential revenue it could bring to the city.