THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2025 Page 7 still others may know Rose as a sharply critical watchdog who has harshly criticized public offi cials and projects in the past. “In this race, I’ve changed,” he said. “I had to change.” Rose acknowledges in the past he has been overly negative. “I’m not a politician, I’m a Wayne Rose into the high school stabilization fund. “At least we’ll know it’s being used for a good cause,” he said. Parziale said he’s hopeful about the high school, but he believes the city needs to be proactive about fi nding funds to support it. “Residents are worried about an override,” he said. “I’ll vote no on that.” Parziale would also like to begin a discussion about capping property taxes for seniors. He said he would have to work with the CFO. “I believe there’s a way to pay for the school without burdening residents,” he said. Parziale is the deputy superintendent of public works for the city of Woburn. “Other people will talk about infrastructure, I know about it,” he said. And his job allows him to tell voters, “I’m blue collar, I work just like you. Your issues are my issues.” Parziale’s broad goal is to make local government transparent and fair. “I want things to be easy,” he said. “I don’t want residents to guess what’s going on in the budget. People need to be heard.” Like other candidates, Parziale has been knocking on doors, and he said he’s feeling really good about the response from voters. “I think people want some change,” he said. “When we have change, we have hope.” Wayne Rose Many in Revere may know Wayne Rose for his work starting the Safe Saturdays program, which gave kids a safe night in a gym rather than on the streets. Safe Saturdays ran for 30 weeks, and Rose hopes to restore the program. Others may know Rose for fighting against parking meters on Revere Beach. Others may recall he raised $3,000 and delivered a meal to residents at Jack Satter House during covid. But street guy,” he said, adding that he’s learned how to change. “I’ve learned from knocking on doors and talking to people, and that’s what I’ll move forward with,” he said. And according to Rose, one of his big takeaways from talking to residents is that people are “really mad.” “We need change,” he said. “The traffi c, the development — we need small buildings not apartments on top of apartments.” Rose acknowledges the city needs some development, some aff ordable residential and commercial development. He said the cost of living in Revere is pushing older residents out of the city. “Everything is a fee,” he said, “parking fees, trash fees…” And Rose questions the way the city is spending its money. He worries that the ultimate cost of the new high school could be exorbitant, and he questions why the city is giving the Suff olk Downs development a $15 million tax break but can’t fi nd the money for school buses. Rose also has experience tackling quality-of-life issues. “I’ve fought the rat population for 10 years now,” he said. Rose believes the problem is open dumpsters at restaurants, properties on Revere Beach, at the Hill and A.C. Whalen Schools and the police barracks. He said nothing is done to regulate the dumpsters while residents receive fi nes if their trash barrels are not closed tightly. When the Department of Conservation & Recreation installed parking meters on Revere Beach, Rose harnessed residents’ anger and organized and led rallies and protests. “People came out, gathered and held signs,” said Rose. And they were heard. “We got the meters off the beach.” And Revere regained its standing as the fi rst public beach in the United States with free and open access to all. Rose’s campaign material highlights his and his family’s working-class roots. His pitch to voters is “I’m a blue collar citizen like you…A vote for Wayne Rose is a vote for the people.” COLUMBUS | FROM Page 1 one of the original sponsors of the motion, gave a brief history of the statue commissioned by the Knights of Columbus and sculpted by Belgian artist Alois Buyens in 1892. It was originally installed at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, but in 1925 Cardinal William O’Connell ordered the statue to be moved to Revere as a gift to the city’s Italian American residents. The statue was intended to symbolize the importance of Columbus to the city’s immigrant community, and it has stood at St. Anthony’s for more than 100 years. McKenna also shared the harrowing story of her family’s escape from Italy during World War II. “The statue is a tribute to my mother and what the Italian people endured,” said McKenna, adding that the timing of the motion was especially significant since October is Italian American Heritage Month. Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya said she regularly attends St. Anthony’s church, and the statue is personally meaningful to her. “It’s an important part of my heritage and history,” she said, adding, “This is special to my heart.” Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro described himself as a proud Italian American. “Five years ago, there were threats to take the statue down. Now we are trying to make it a historical landmark. This is a proud day, and I’m proud to be part of that,” said Cogliandro. The eff ort to remove the statue was also clear in the memory of Councillor-atlarge Anthony Zambuto. Zambuto said he remembers the horror of someone saying during a political rally that the statue has to go. “It was horrifying to hear someone say that. If we go through with this motion, that will never happen,” said Zambuto, who referred to the move throughout the country to remove certain statues and monuments. “This is our heritage, our history, and it’s not going to be erased,” added Zambuto. McKenna said she discussed the motion with church offi cials at St. Anthony’s, and they support the plan.
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