By Adam Swift
The city council voted down a motion to send a letter of support for an audit of the state legislature at its meeting last week. Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley submitted a motion asking that the council, on behalf of the City of Revere, send a formal letter to the Massachusetts State Legislature, including members of the General Court, the Office of the State Auditor, and other appropriate state officials, expressing the city’s support for the implementation of an audit of the Massachusetts Legislature as approved by the voters. In the November 2024 State Election, state voters approved a ballot question authorizing the State Auditor to conduct an audit of the Massachusetts Legislature, with the majority of Revere voters also supporting the ballot initiative.
“Not just here, but voters across Massachusetts approved a ballot question supporting an audit of the legislature,” said Kelley. “Here in Revere, we had over 9,500 voters that supported this audit. This motion simply asks whether the council wants to send a letter reflecting the decision of our Revere voters; it does not create any new policy or obligations, it is merely a communication.” Kelley noted that the town of Reading has already submitted a similar letter to the state legislature. “I also think we have a responsibility to formally acknowledge the will of our voters by way of a letter to the Massachusetts state legislature,” she said. “We have the opportunity to be one of the first municipalities to show we stand behind our voters on this issue; I think we should take a stand and do it.”
Several councillors said they were hesitant to support the motion given that the audit is currently the subject of litigation. “The Revere City Council is a municipal legislative body, and we do not have jurisdiction over the internal operations of the Massachusetts legislature,” said Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya. “Residents already expressed their will through the vote on the ballot question and the responsibility for implementation lies within the appropriate state entities, not us. I also believe we should be mindful of setting a precedent where the council begins weighing in on broader state-level political issues that fall outside our municipal responsibilities.”
Guarino-Sawaya said she respected Kelley’s intent with the motion, but that she believed it was out of order. Both Councillor-at-Large Joanne McKenna and Ward 4 Councillor Paul Argenzio noted that there is ongoing litigation over the audit question, and that the city should not get involved at this time. “We should allow this process to play, let the courts take it up, and support the outcome of that court decision,” said Argenzio. Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri said he did not want to get into a back-and-forth situation with the state. “Where the budget is coming up and they are approving fundings to the cities, I don’t want to get into that mess right now,” said Silvestri. Council President Anthony Zambuto said he typically has not supported the types of letters and resolutions proposed by Kelley.
“I find myself in a position where I want to support this because this is the will of the voter, so I may break my tradition and support this tonight,” said Zambuto. “I have to be principled to what I think, and I think that is different than any of these resolutions that were passed to try to shut a power plant down or whatever … I voted against all of them, but I find myself in the opposite position tonight.” The motion failed as Kelley and Zambuto voted in support of it, Silvestri voted present, and the remaining councilors voted no.