Resignation sets stage for Revere city clerk battle

REVERE – City Clerk John Henry’s retirement triggers a mid-summer political drama for City Council members vying to pick Henry’s successor.Word of Henry’s resignation has circulated through City Hall’s corridors for months, but Henry, 65, officially filed for retirement Wednesday, capping off a 32-year career that saw him juggle several city supervisory jobs and serve as Massachusetts Association of City Clerks president.Henry’s current job description includes preparing material for City Council meetings, serving as city parking clerk and processing marriage and death certificates with the help of clerk’s office employees.City Council President Daniel Rizzo expects at least four people to seek council support in a bid to become Henry’s successor. The successful candidate must receive six out of 11 councilors’ votes and Rizzo said the selection process could drag into late summer.”Some people, frankly, would like to see it done after the (November municipal) election,” he said Wednesday.Rizzo is backing Assessor John Verrengia, citing Verrengia’s 10 years on the Board of Assessors, eight years with the Zoning Board of Appeals and experience as Revere Chamber of Commerce president.”He’s totally tuned into the city,” Rizzo said.Assistant Clerk Ashley Melnik would like to succeed her boss and cites her experience in converting Clerk’s Office records from index cards to computer files as one of her qualifications for the job. She has more than 10 years on the job and started working in City Hall as a junior high student.Rizzo said Melnik “will make a great clerk some day” but said she needs more experience before she is qualified to do the job.Local attorney Lawrence Simeone Jr.’s name has also surfaced on the potential clerk candidate list. Simeone frequently appears before the council representing developers, most recently an investment group seeking council approval to build a high-rise residential project on the site of the Ocean Lodge Motel on Revere Beach Boulevard.Rizzo said the Council will vote Monday on a motion to allow Henry to continue serving as acting clerk while the selection of his successor continues.