Former DPW boss takes new path following retirement – as city councillor

By Barbara Taormina

Last Friday was an unusual day for Paul Argenzio. “I hung around the house and didn’t do anything, really,” said Argenzio.

But it was the first day in years that Argenzio wasn’t braced for a telephone call from someone with a problem that needed to be solved. After 43 years on the job, Friday was the first official day of Argenzio’s retirement from the Revere Department of Public Works.

Argenzio, a lifelong resident of Revere who lives in the same house he grew up in in Ward 4, started at the DPW as a laborer when he was 19 years old. He worked his way up to foreman and took assignments through the different branches of the DPW until ultimately being named superintendent in 2018. “I served under six administrations, six mayors,” he said, adding that it was time to move on.

“But I didn’t want to just walk away from the city,” he said.

So last fall he ran for the Ward 4 City Council seat left open by Mayor Patrick Keefe and won a decisive victory. “I had an advantage of being well known,” he said with a laugh.

To his surprise, Argenzio found he enjoyed walking the ward, knocking on doors and talking to residents. “I’ve always had an interest in politics, always watched the council,” he said.

And campaigning for the job of ward councillor wasn’t that different than heading up the DPW. “I don’t think it will be much of a change for me,” he said. “I listen to whatever problems people have and most problems are public works–related issues.”

Argenzio prides himself on being reactive to residents and city councillors. “Always being there was important; I made it my business to be accessible,” he said.

And it wasn’t always easy. Major events like Hurricane Gloria in 1985, the tornado that hit Revere in 2014 and the April Fool’s Day Snowstorm in 1997 were serious and stressful challenges. Argenzio said clearing the streets for police and fire vehicles was always a priority. And then there were the sewer overflows and water main breaks in the dead of winter. “Those were sometimes 34-to-36-hour-long hauls,” he said, adding that that’s one thing he won’t miss about the job.

Argenzio was pleased to see the department finally in a new facility, specifically for public works. “That was a high point for me,” he said.

“We’ve always been in some old, abandoned building,” he said. Having a dedicated space for the millions of dollars of city-owned equipment was a public works step forward.

Argenzio said he enjoyed caring for the city’s athletic fields and parks and the grounds of public buildings, such as the library, city schools and the senior center. There was also plenty of budgeting, scheduling and paperwork, grants and loans to oversee. All of which gives him a head start as a new city councillor looking at city problems and issues.

But what Argenzio said he valued most during his 43 years at the DPW were the relationships with residents, DPW workers, city department heads and officials. “It was very satisfying being able to help a lot of people with problems,” he said, adding that 75 percent of city problems involve public works.

“But I won’t miss the calls, one after another,” he said, adding that there was always some crisis. Still, Argenzio seems ready for calls from Ward 4 constituents.

And he’s looking forward to serving with five other new city councillors. “There’s six new councillors; we’ve never had that amount of change,” he said. “The biggest issue is the new high school, and I look forward to talking about it.”

He said he was dismayed to see that talks about the high school became so personal and he’s hoping the new council will be able to compromise. “Maybe the conversation can get back on track,” he said.

Argenzio can certainly bring a new perspective on the culvert that has been a shock to those who supported the plan to build the school on the existing site. “The culvert was an issue 43 years ago,” he said. “It has to be addressed no matter where the high school goes.”

Argenzio has had a front row seat to all of the change and growth in the city for the past four decades. It’s home and it’s a place he is committed to serving. “Revere is a vibrant community, with great diversity and it’s close to Boston but not in Boston.”