Dimple Rana has taken a leave of absence from her position as director of Healthy Community Initiatives for the City of Revere. Rana said there were “a couple of reasons†behind the decision that she made last Thursday afternoon. “First, my position is a union position and my salary was cut and I’ve been taking on new programs and new projects and I have not been compensated,†said Rana. “Even when I went from manager to director and then taking on initiatives like the Summer Youth Jobs Programs and now with the recent appointment – I feel that I deserve compensation for the work that I’ve done in bringing in and maintaining grants for the city around Healthy Initiatives.†Rana did not indicate the length of her leave of absence, saying “I’m not sure right now.†“I’m taking some time to spend with my family, which I haven’t been able to do, since I’ve been working around the clock with COVID-19 and setting up our emergency food distribution and running a whole coalition of community partners and city staff in responding and helping all of our community during COVID-19,†said Rana. “I’m just taking some time to process what’s happened recently – in October it will be 10 years that I will be working for the city and right now I just want to spend time with my family.†Rana also addressed the action of the City Council in tabling her appointment as the executive director of the Revere Human Rights Commission that Mayor Brian Arrigo is trying to reactivate after a 20-year hiatus. “The City Council had more than enough time from the time that Mayor Arrigo had announced my appointment [as executive director] on June 9 to learn more about the Commission and what it does – I don’t think that the Council was considerate when my appointment came up at the City Council meeting,†said Rana. “I was treated very unfairly without having an opportunity to discuss why we need a Human Rights Commission.†Rana compared her appointment to that of Ralph DeCicco’s appointment as chair of the Revere Disabilities Commission. “The Disabilities Commission was inactive for a good amount of time and when it was reactivated, Ralph DeCicco was appointed for the position of chair – and he informed me that it took 3-6 months to get that Commission up and going, so it’s something that takes time to happen and it will take time for the Human Rights Commission to be fully functioning,†said Rana.
