Rizzo and Keefe to face off in General Election

Revere voters cast ballots for mayor, at-large, ward races

By James Mitchell and Barbara Taormina

Over 6,600 registered Revere voters out of 30,000 headed to the polls on Primary Day on Tuesday to cast ballots for a new mayor and a new City Council, depending on the General Election’s outcome in November.

In the highly contested mayoral race between four city councillors, Dan Rizzo received 2,627, 39%, to runner-up Patrick Keefe, Jr.’s 2,488 votes (37%), followed by Gerry Visconti’s 886 votes and Steven Morabito’s 608 votes. Rizzo and Keefe head into the November 7 General Election with both promising a careful and cautious approach to any future developments. However, they differ significantly over the new high school, with Keefe having staunchly supported a building at Wonderland and Rizzo favoring the use of the existing site as more fiscally responsible.

“We’re happy the election went the way it did and we look forward to bringing our positive message about the future of Revere to every resident in the city,” said Rizzo. “I’m proud of our team. We executed and we did very well. We believe our message is resonating with residents.”

As Keefe and Rizzo take a breath and get ready for the next round of campaigning, Visconti and Morabito are also taking some time to figure out where they go from here.

“Although I may not have won the mayoral race, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to my incredible wife, Danielle and four children who stood by me throughout this journey. It’s not easy to put your family out there to be critiqued but my wife and children handled it with class and I’m proud of that,” said Visconti who went on to thank his staff and campaign volunteers.

“Knocking on doors for over five months, I gave it my all. We left it out on the field. I wish the other candidates the best of luck and eagerly anticipate serving out my term on the city council. Remember, when one door closes you never know if another will open,” said Visconti.

Morabito posted his thanks to supporters on X, formerly Twitter, and acknowledged the election results weren’t what his team was hoping for.

“As of January, I may not be continuing in the role of city councillor, but I want you to know my commitment to our city remains as strong as ever,” he wrote.

In the Councillor-at-Large race, Robert Haas III, son of the late mayor and city councillor Bob Haas, topped the ticket with 2,591 votes; followed by incumbents Anthony Zambuto, who garnered 2,511 votes; Marc Silvestri with 2,437 votes; and newcomers Michelle Kelley, 2,051 votes; Juan Pablo Jaramillo, 1,831 votes; Anthony Parziale, 1,420 votes; Alexander Rhalimi, 1,460 votes; Stephen Damiano, Jr., 1,297 votes; Donald Martelli, 1,225 votes; Wayne Rose, 930 votes; and Edward J. Almeida, 595 votes. According to the unofficial results posted on the city’s Election Department website, 33,480 votes were cast, with 15,098 blank votes.

In the ward 1 council race, incumbent Joanne McKenna ran away with 64%, garnering 676 votes, to challengers John J. Stamatopoulos’ 22%, 235 votes; and Brian Averback’s 69 votes. In the three precincts, 1,053 votes were cast. McKenna will face Stamatopoulos in the General Election.

In the ward 4 council race, Paul Argenzio ran away with 57%, 2,432 votes, to Gregory Murray’s 702 votes (19%); followed by Herby Jean-Baptiste’s 168 votes. In the three precincts, 1,224 votes were cast. Argenzio will face Murray in the November final.

In the ward 5 council race, newcomer Angela Guarino-Sawaya topped the ticket with 668 votes (44%) to John Powers’ 432 votes (28%); followed by Ralph A. Celestin’s 177 votes and Randall Mondestin’s 152 votes. In the four precincts reported, a total of 1,513 votes were cast in the ward 5 race on Tuesday. Guarino-Sawaya will face Powers in the November election.

Looking to November’s other races, in Ward 2, longtime incumbent Ira Novoselsky is heading into a race with Danielle Osterman, a social worker who has been involved in programs for local small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Anthony Cogliandro is running unopposed and will be back to represent Ward 3. In Ward 6, retired Revere police officer and political newcomer Chris Giannino will be running unopposed.