Guido Installed As President of Mass. Police Association

James R. Guido, an officer in the Revere Police Department for 34 years and its chief since 2017, was installed as president of the Massachusetts Police Association (MPA) at a ceremony Dec. 12 at Casa Lucia.

The honor is a prestigious one with substantial influence. There are approximately 18,000 police officers who are members of the Association. Founded in 1900, it is the oldest police association in Massachusetts. It is not a union organization, but one that works on legislation on behalf of police officers across the state.

The MPA board of directors, over which Guido presides, meets once a month and there is an annual MPA convention.

Guido, 60, has been an active member of the MPA for several years. “It’s the highlight of my career to go out on top as president of the Mass. Police,” said Guido. “The MPA is near and dear to my heart. I think it’s a wonderful organization and it’s done a lot of great work on behalf of police officers across the state. I look forward to continuing that work in the year ahead.”

Mayor Brian Arrigo, Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo, State Rep. RoseLee Vincent, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, and District Attorney Rachael Rollins attended the swearing-in ceremony, offering their personal congratulations. Several city officials also attended the event.

Lily Guido, his wife of 36 years, and their children, Jay and Nanci, also looked on proudly from the audience.

“It was a wonderful time and I can’t thank everyone who came enough for taking time out of their schedule to be there for my swearing-in ceremony,” said Guido.

Guido was humble in his inaugural speech as president.

“I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and the best group of friends – thank you for being here today,” he said.

Guido said the 34 years have gone by rather quickly.

“Where did the time go?” he asked. “On that first day 34 years ago, I could not have imagined becoming the chief of police, never mind the president of the MPA. It has been the most rewarding experience of my life to serve as a police officer in the City of Revere. I love Revere and I am so proud to be chief of police in this city. Being chief has been the most exciting two-and-half-years of my career.”

In an interview following the ceremony, Guido reiterated how deeply he cherishes being police chief in Revere.

“It was a great honor that Brian Arrigo allowed me to be chief of police,” said Guido. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I work hard every day to make a difference in the community.”

He is proud of the 107 officers who serve in the Revere Police Department.

“This department is comprised of very talented men and women and it’s a great department that does a great job, and it’s an honor to lead them,” he said.

A 1977 graduate of Revere High School and the Northeast Regional after-school program where he learned carpentry, Guido worked in construction for many years and still holds a construction supervisor’s license.

Guido said he’s still enthusiastic and energetic in his commitment to the Revere Police Department. He takes pride in his accomplishments such as the construction of the new Revere Police Station.

“One of the highlights of my career was getting this new station built,” said Guido. “I spent five years on the project. I think the building serves the community well along with the new fire station.

“As chief, I’ve tried to make the officers be more receptive to the public – what appears to be a minor problem to us can be a significant problem for people – we try to have our officers recognize that and treat every call for service equally.”

He feels Revere is a safe community.

“No community is exempt from crime,” said Guido. “The couple of significant incidents we did have were solved and arrests were made. And that’s a great tribute to the department and its fine work. We’re pro-active.”

The new MPA president and Revere chief said he is currently working hard on the vehicular traffic issues in the city and “there are changes being made to increase the number of traffic lanes at certain intersections to improve the flow of traffic.”