Paul Fahey has begun in his new position as the incoming commissioner of the Revere Election Department. Fahey, who was appointed by Mayor Brian Arrigo and confirmed unanimously by the City Council, succeeds Diana Colella, who is retiring after a stellar career in the key position in city government. Fahey officially began on Dec. 13 and will work with Colella during a five-week transition period
. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to observe a full election cycle because we had a Special Election [Senate] Primary on December 14 (which coincidentally was my birthday, so I got to work 17 hours on my birthday, which was nice) – and the Special Election [Senate] Final Election is on January 11,†said Fahey. “So I feel very lucky to have this overlap time where I get to work with Diane before she retires.
She has a wealth of information from over two decades with the city, and I’m really happy to learn from here and hit the ground running next month.†Fahey brings an impressive background in municipal government to his post. He was the chief of staff to the Mayor of Amesbury (Mass.) and prior to that he worked in a similar position in the Methuen Mayor’s Office. He has 10 years of experience in state government in the State Legislature and the Executive Office of Public Safety running the State 9-1-1 Department.
Originally from Watertown, Fahey resides in Melrose where he has had the opportunity to meet current Congresswoman Katherine Clark, who is Assistant Speaker of the House of Representatives. Fahey will be working with Assistant Election Commissioner Caitlin Welch and Senior Clerk Youssef Asni in the Revere Election Department. “I wish Paul well and I support him 100 percent,†said Colella who has written a letter to the editor in this week’s Revere Journal expressing her gratitude to city officials and others.