Election season heating up in at-large, school committee races

Advocate Staff report

REVERE – With the summer heat ramping up, November and the next municipal election seem a long way off. But candidates are already organizing, campaigning and making their cases to Revere voters.

The race for at-large seats on the City Council is already crowded with eight candidates competing for five seats. And it’s still relatively early. In 2023, the at-large race had a field of 10 candidates vying for three seats left open by candidates running for mayor. For the upcoming cycle, all five incumbent at-large councillors have already pulled papers: Council President Marc Silvestri, Anthony Zambuto, Michelle Kelley, Juan Pablo Jaramillo and Robert Haas are all seeking a new term on the council. They will be running against Anthony Parziale, Wayne Rose and Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna.

The last day to file nomination papers with the election office is July 29 at 5 p.m.

Incumbents also dominate the ward races. Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky, Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro, Ward 4 Councillor Paul Argenzio, Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya and Ward 6 Councillor Chris Giannino are running for reelection. In Ward 1, James Mercurio and Brian Averback are vying for the council seat left open by McKenna.

The School Committee race has more new faces. Incumbents John Kingston, Stacey Brondson-Rizzo and Fred Sannella are running for at-large seats on the committee along with Ralph DeCicco, Jr. and Ashley Marie Ilges. In Ward 1, Jacqueline Monterosso is running against Kathryn Schulte-Grahame. In Ward 2, the race is between Rafael A. Feliciano and Alexander Rhalimi. Although it is still early, Anthony Caggiano is running unopposed in Ward 3, as is Stephen Damiano, Jr. The Ward 5 race is between incumbents Aisha Milbury Ellis and Frederick Sannella, who was appointed to serve the remainder of Tony Mattera’s term after Mattera died in the summer of 2024. In Ward 6, Vanessa Biasella is running unopposed at this point.