Ambrosino looks back at last 12 years

REVERE – When Thomas G. Ambrosino took office as mayor 12 years ago, he had set goals in mind.?I wanted to build new schools, improve the beach and fix the serious infrastructure problems the city was facing,” Ambrosino said.Now, as he is facing to leave office in January, he feels confident he achieved those goals. “I think I accomplished the most I could,” Ambrosino said. “I feel good about that.”During his time as mayor, Revere built four new schools, with an improved McKinley school in the works, Revere Beach received an $11 million renovation, the Wonderland station will soon have a new central plaza and major sewer and infrastructure problems tied with flooding have been fixed.Having checked off most of his mayoral bucket list, Ambrosino decided not to run for reelection.?I thought it was time for someone else to come in,” he said.This January he?ll hand over the reins to Councilor-at-Large Daniel Rizzo, who beat fellow City Councilor George Rotondo in a landslide election earlier this month.Twelve years ago, Ambrosino was the newbie when he ousted then-incumbent Mayor Robert Haas.?I was on the city council at the time and I thought I could do a good job as mayor and thought I should give it a try,” Ambrosino said. “It worked out well, I would say.”The decision to leave after more than a decade at Revere?s helm was a bitter sweet one for the soon-to-be former mayor, who said he?ll miss his colleagues at City Hall.One of those, Superintendent Paul Dakin, said Ambrosino is a gifted man for communicating.?He is a brilliant man,” Dakin said. “He is my junior in years but my senior in the way he works with people and his intellect.”The Harvard lawyer doesn?t know what lies ahead in his future.?I will probably be looking for work,” he joked. “I would like to stay in government. I like public service. I find it very rewarding.”Dakin thinks Ambrosino should consider going into education for his future career. “He has learned a lot about the school system and how it works,” he said. “I think he would make an excellent superintendent.”Ambrosino said he will leave City Hall with his head held high.?I look back on it with a lot of pride. I accomplished many of the things I wanted to,” he said.He also doesn?t have many regrets. “I wish I hired a personal director when I came into office. It would have saved me a lot of aggravation,” he said. “Otherwise, I gave it my all. I couldn?t have worked any harder.”Councilor at Large Daniel Rizzo will take over as mayor this January. Ambrosino has some simple advice for his replacement: “Just be true to yourself,” he said. “At the end of the day, you are the one that has to look at you in the mirror.”The reality of the next chapter of his life is beginning to sink in. “It is beginning to hit me that I won?t be working here in January,” he said.Sara Brown can be reached at [email protected].