Local News & Sports in 6 Languages. Advocate Online. - Scan Here! Vol. 33, No.49 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Free Every Friday 781-286-8500 Friday, December 8, 2023 Keefe officially wins race in weekend recount By Barbara Taormina O n Saturday, staff from the city's election commission department spent about nine hours hand counting the 9,660 ballots cast in the recent mayoral election. The numbers did not change much from the results posted on election night. Mayor-elect Patrick Keefe gained one vote during the recount and ended with 4,933 votes and Councillor-AtLarge Dan Rizzo, who petitioned for the recount, picked up fi ve votes for fi nal tally of 4,570. The recount totals show seven fewer write-in votes but the same number of blanks, 147. Prior to the recount, Rizzo said he did not expect to overturn the election. However, he had questions about the way some votes were tabulated, and a recount was the only way to get a complete picture of the election. "We got the information we needed," said Rizzo. 'Were still just assessing everything. Just RECOUNT | SEE Page 19 All eyes were on the doorway of the RHS Field House as the ballots were brought in. City Council sets new residential/commercial tax rates for FY’24 Advocate staff report Revere Election Commissioner Paul Fahey, right, ensured the proper arrival of the ballots at the RHS Fieldhouse on Saturday. The ballots were locked in a safe at Revere City Hall on Friday. (Advocate photo by Tara Vocino) Councillor requests investigation of discrimination, harassment allegations of city solicitor’s office By Barbara Taormina T he City Council voted to request that Mayor-Elect Patrick Keefe conduct an external investigation into City Solicitor Paul Capizzi and allegations of harassment and gender discrimination from three City of Revere employees. “My concern is making sure the process is done fairly and handled correctly with full transparency,” said Ward 3 Councillor Anthony Cogliandro, who fi led the motion with the request. “Apparently, that’s a huge problem for some of the people in this building,” added Cogliandro, who went on to describe the aggressive push back he says he’s received after fi ling his motion. Cogliandro said he received a letter from a City of Revere employee warning that the case against Capizzi should not be discussed in public and that it made the city look bad. Cogliandro said he was told the administration would not support the motion, but more troubling was the threat “people with a past shouldn’t make waves.” Cogliandro quoted the letter as saying, “I can’t wait to open my investigation on councillors.” Cogliandro stressed that he was only asking that an external party conduct the investigation, which he said would give the fi ndings validity. “I have been told more stories about harassment, retaliation, intimidation, blackmail and gender discrimination than you can imagine,” said Cogliandro. “The problem is no one speaks up about it because they know nothing will be done, scared they will lose their jobs, or scared their characters will be assassinated.” Fellow councillors supported Cogliandro’s motion, even those who expressed support for Capizzi. Councillor-at-Large Dan Rizzo said he’s worked with Capizzi for two decades and as far as he knows, the solicitor does not have a blemish on his record. Still, Rizzo supported the request for an external investigation. Rizzo added that he is troubled by the dialog surrounding the motion and the threat of retaliation made toward city councillors. “I have a concern about the city solicitor’s behavior in and outside this building,” said Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri. Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto described the facts that have come out about the case as unbelievable, and he said he supported Cogliandro’s motion 100 percent and he had his colleague’s back. Robert Marra, an attorney working in the mayor-elect’s offi ce, opposed the motion. Marra told councillors that getting involved in the case exceeds their authority. He stressed that the City Council is a legislative body, not a human resources department, which, he added, should be responsible for the investigation. Marra told the council to consider future employee grievances and noted they should be handled by the human resources department and not through complaints to city councillors. T he City Council this week set new tax rates for 2024. On the recommendation of the Assessor’s Offi ce, they approved a residential tax factor of. 880912, which creates a split tax rate for commercial and residential properties. The tax factor approved by the council shifts 175 percent of the increase in taxes next year to commercial property owners and gives home owners the greatest amount of tax relief allowed under the law. The residential tax rate will drop from $9.51 per $1,000 of property value to $9.11. Commercial rates will decrease from $18.98 to $18.10. According to information from the Assessor’s Offi ce, the 2024 average value of a single-family home in Revere is $566,242. The average tax bill for that home will be $5,158. Mayor, Santa Light Up City Hall LIGHT IT UP: Mayor Patrick Keefe throws the switch to light up Revere City Hall Plaza as Santa and Mrs. Claus look on. See page 10 for photo highlights. (Advocate photo)
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