"Then, I left
my seat on the board to take a job as Director of Veteran Services for
the city," he said. After having spent three years there, he was
re-elected in 2003.

Pero has served as President of the Board
before – he held that position for the first time in 1998. An
individual is permitted to be elected to that position every 11 years.

"To
become President of the Board, it's really a two year process because
you have to lobby the other members," said Pero. "Once you're
considered as Vice President, get elected, spend a year as Vice
President, then you have to go back to them again, and say, 'Now, will
you elect me President?' It's not automatic." The position of President
of the Board of Aldermen is a one year term, most of the time.

Although
Pero is serving as President of the Board of Aldermen, he is otherwise
retired. He worked in municipal government for over twenty years.

Pero
was born in Cambridge and at the age of two moved to Somerville – first
to Oak Street "right outside of Union Square." After that, he and his
family moved to 392 Medford Street, where he currently resides.

Having
graduated from Boston State College with a degree in Education, he
received his Masters in Counseling from the University of Southern
California while he was in the service. After that, Pero worked for a
period of time and then "earned another advanced degree [in educational
administration] from Worcester State College. I was very fortunate I
was able to take advantage of my GI Bill benefits to pay for the
advanced school."

Pero battled Leukemia in 2002: "It began right
here, in Davis Square. I was working for the city, at the time, as the
Director of Veteran Services. I had a pain in my leg, and I didn't know
what it was. I came up here to Harvard to be checked out on a Tuesday
morning. By the middle of the afternoon, [the doctor] called me at my
office at City Hall Annex and told me to go, right then, to Brigham and
Women's. I was diagnosed with Leukemia. Five years they say is a cure,"
said Pero.

After having had Leukemia, Pero possesses a new
outlook on life. "Very little worries me. I kind of feel like I've been
through some of the worst." Leukemia caused Pero to sport "'the gaunt
look' — no hair, I lost 45 pounds," he said. "I literally came within
a moment of death. I felt like one time, I was going to die."

In
late February, Senator Kerry visited Assembly Square and assured
Somerville residents that the city would receive stimulus money. Pero,
as well as other city officials, were present. He predicts that Route
93 will be graced by a large IKEA sign, outside of the new Somerville
store.

The Gasoline Tax, new toll plazas on roads which are
currently toll-free, and the Highway Tax are all state initiatives,
which, according to Pero, are three imperative issues, as they pertain
to Somerville, "As a city, we don't take a position," said Pero.
However, personally "I'd rather see [an increase in revenue] with the
tolls, because I don't use the tolls as much as others. The Gas Tax
will affect me directly and be permanent."

Somerville is
considering forbidding free parking. Therefore, the entire city would
use residential parking — exclusively. "I live in an area where
people will leave their cars there all day. They essentially have free
parking, and then access to Boston," he said.

As others in the
Boston area have done, Somerville Hospital has "gone through
substantial layoffs and financial turmoil," he said. However, it will
remain open. Although, now, overnight stays are a thing of the past.

"The
Green Line is going to come through to Medford," said Pero. New stop
locales will include one close to Brickbottom, one in Gilman Square,
another at Lowell Street, and finally, Ball Square, before terminating
at Route 16. "It's going to go to Route 16, but I think, it's going to
be on the Medford side. Then, a separate spur is going to come to Union
Square, and have, essentially, a turn-around and go back to Lechmere."

In
this midst of budgetary woes, Pero says that while personnel cuts are
not on the horizon for this fiscal year, next year is a different
story. He also talked about his own Ward – which encompasses most of
Winter Hill along the Broadway corridor – and that numerous plans exist
for the area, one site in particular on Broadway, which was formerly
the site of the Winter Hill Star Market. "We could attempt to get a
supermarket back in there, but we had no takers," said Pero. A
moratorium has been placed on zoning in the area and there have been
several community meetings addressing concerns, including zoning
restrictions. "That will allow for different developments on the site,"
he said. "What we may end up with is something like retail on the first
floor, residential above it, parking in the rear."

As President
of the Board of Aldermen, Pero feels that the Fiscal 2010 Budget is the
most pressing issue this year. "Cities like New Bedford and Fall River
are laying people off now — we're talking about teachers, firemen,
police officers — key things that we all look for in a city," he
said. In addition, "Public safety is going to be impacted. One layoff
led to multiple impacts.

He "believes" that a new hotel will
be constructed in Davis Square. However, he does not know the exact
timetable. "I think it's a good thing for the Square." New zoning in
Union Square was discussed at a recent land use meeting. "The zoning
expires on April 30, unless we pass it," he said.

In Pero's
opinion, some aspects of the present local government in Somerville
should change. Each elected official in Somerville should all have a
term, consisting of an equal number of years. The mayor has a four year
term now, whereas, the Board of Aldermen and the School Committee, are
both elected for a two year term.

He feels that, "It just
creates a situation — a mayor with a four year term and others with a
two year term, the mayor is essentially freed up in that midterm to get
very involved in the other elections, without having to be concerned
with his or her own election."

Pero sits on the School
Committee, although he does not "really feel like a full-fledged
member." The city is considering transforming the current title of
Aldermen to City Councilors. However, he favors the term Aldermen.
Aside from "nomenclature, there's no difference."

Additionally,
Pero voted against the Golden Light Chinese food restaurant's remaining
open until 3 a.m. "I'm not against him having late night Chinese meals,
what I'm against is him violating the law when a Somerville Police
Captain told him to close, and he continued to serve. That, to me, was
such an offense. You have a couple of police captains telling you to
shut down, and you're serving out the back door."

In fact, the
city has just become aware of other cases of restaurants having
extremely late closing times. In Somerville, eateries, which serve
after 12 a.m., are required to receive a permit from Board of Aldermen.
"My position is, let's go after them, as well. So, we're going to be
dragging these people before us to testify, themselves," said Pero.