Election 2023: What the Candidates Raised and Spent

By Barbara Taormina

Candidates have called the 2023 campaign consequential, competitive and combative, but one thing it was not is cheap.

Mayoral candidates Acting Mayor Patrick Keefe and Councillor-At-Large Dan Rizzo together raised $422,750 in campaign contributions; add in the $80,186 raised by Councillor-At-Large Gerry Visconti and the nearly $15,000 in campaign contributions to Councillor-At-Large Steven Morabito, who both ran in the Preliminary Election, and Revere’s mayoral race cost nearly enough to pay for the new high school.

According to reports filed with the state’s Office of Campaign Finance, Keefe took in $195,474 in contributions, while Rizzo reported receiving $227,276. During the campaign, Keefe and Rizzo frequently remarked about who was donating to their opponent. Keefe’s long list of donors included dozens of city employees and a notable number of large donations from developers, construction companies and real estate professionals. Rizzo’s supporters were generally Revere residents who contributed an average of $50.

Keefe reported $176,612 in campaign spending while the Rizzo campaign spent $180,186 wooing voters. While those figures are significant, they are dwarfed by the $417,476 former Mayor Brian Arrigo spent in 2019 which the Office of Campaign Finance reports equaled more than $57 for each vote.

Back in 1991, reporter Melissa Lee published an article in The Harvard Crimson that began with the premise that 20 grand was the minimum amount needed to make a serious run for a seat on a city council. Although not all Revere City Council candidates have filed their campaign finance reports, the majority of those who have reported their numbers are below that threshold.

In the most recent campaign finance reports for the At-Large race, Michelle Kelly reported the highest number of receipts with $30,025 in campaign contributions. Juan Pablo Jaramillo received $26,217. Incumbent Marc Silvestri reported $16,474 in receipts, and fellow incumbent Anthony Zambuto reported $10,750. Robert Haas supporters contributed $13,570 to see him elected to the council.

In Ward 1, incumbent Councillor and City Council President Pro Tempore Joann McKenna outraised opponent John Stamatopoulous, $32,368 to $3,400. McKenna spent $12,996 on her campaign while Stamatopoulous reported $2,149 in campaign expenses.

In the race for the Ward 4 council seat, Public Works Director Paul Argenzio received $23,875 from supporters and spent $21,435 on his campaign. Argenzio’s opponent, Gregory Murray, raised $1,350 and reported zero expenses.