Page 8 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2023 Record turnout celebrates Thanksgiving at Mass Badge’s 10th Annual Community Dinner By Tara Vocino A pproximately 1,000 people – a record turnout – attended last Tuesday’s Mass Badge 10th Annual Community Thanksgiving Complimentary Dinner at Casa Lucia Function Facility. At left, shown from left to right: Michael Scaramozza, Mayor-Elect Patrick Keefe, Jr., Offi cer Joe Duca, Shannon Duca, Steve Penta and Corrie O’Neil. At right, shown from left to right: Anthony Pio, Rick Griffi n, Offi cer John Papasodora, Denise Papasodora and Alita Bransfi eld. In the center is The Good Diner owner Saber Abougalala. RECOUNT | FROM Page 1 the recount. On Friday morning, the Elections Department will sort the 9,660 ballots cast into blocks of 50 to prepare them to be counted. The actual recount begins at 9 a.m. at the Revere High School gym. There will be 24 tally clerks hand counting ballots and recording the count results. Attorneys for Rizzo and Keefe will be present as well as an attorney for the Board of Election Commissioners. There can be challenges to the way each vote is counted. Challenged ballots are reviewed by Election Commissioner Paul Fahey and the Election Commission, who will decide which candidate receives the vote. Fahey said any recount has the potential to change the fi nal number of votes for each candidate. But the changes are typically small, and even Rizzo said he doesn’t expect the recount to overturn the election. There have been some stories and gossip making the rounds that there were batches of suspicious ballots found. But Fahey said there are no credible reports or complaints about voting or votes. “If there is anything people are concerned about, they should call the Elections Department,” said Fahey. Both days of the recount are open to the public. In other City Council news: The City Council moved forward this week with some common-sense issues related to the city’s workforce. Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro, who chairs the council’s subcommittee on appointments, explained that the Zoning Board of Appeals Clerk had not received a salary upgrade for 25 years. The assistant city clerk, who has worked for Revere since 2006, is in a similar position because her job is classifi ed as an administrative assistant. “We’re just trying to make this right,” Cogliandro told fellow councillors, who agreed and approved making the corrections. Cogliandro asked the council to approve Acting Mayor Keefe’s temporary appointments of Savanah Carlson and Joseph Heafitz to the Cultural Council. Earlier this year, the council voted to limit the acting mayor’s ability to hire or appoint personnel to cases of extreme need or emergency. Cogliandro explained that the Cultural Council presently doesn’t have a quorum. The council controls the distribution and use of state funding, some of which is earmarked for the library. The appointments would allow the council to get the funding to the library. Carlson’s and Heafitz’s appointments run through Jan. 1, 2024, at which time the mayor can reappoint them. Shown from left to right: Christian, Viviana, Gabriel and Michael Arias enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal during last Tuesday’s 10th Annual Community Thanksgiving Complimentary Dinner hosted by Mass Badge at Casa Lucia Function Facility. Mass Badge volunteers, shown from left to right: Lisa Granese, Shawna Varacelli and Katie Aborn with event organizer Joseph Internicola. (Advocate photos by Tara Vocino) Shown from left to right: Stephen Fiore, Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto, Michael McLaughlin and Councillor-at-Large Gerry Visconti. Rita Priore and Gail Hagstrom wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
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