Roberto Scalese, Patch Staff

Email: roberto@patch.com

Phone: 781-315-3125

Hometown: Revere, Mass.

Birthday: June 22

Roberto graduated from Clark University with a degree in Philosophy. It wasn't until his senior year that a professor informed him that a philosophy degree was essentially an oath of poverty.

Terrified at the potential of living out his life as a kind of secular monk, he turned to his lifelong hobby and only marketable skill: Writing. With three journalism courses and a stint as senior editor of an unauthorized campus magazine under his belt, he decided to try his luck writing for his supper.

Over the last 10 years, he's done just that. Roberto has worked as a journalist in Wilmington, Billerica, Arlington and Waltham. He has also worked as an editor in both the medical publishing and legal education fields.

A quick glance at his mantle shows a 2003 NEPA award (as part of a team, but still, it totally counts). He is also a two-time Papa Gino's Pizza Olympian (once for overall excellence, once for pizza spinning), and is part of the pub trivia juggernaut Glengarry Diana Ross.

He does not usually write about himself in the third person, and finds it awkward.

Your Beliefs At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

Politics

I'm a registered Democrat and have been for years. Before that, I was officially unenrolled. In general, I vote tactically in primaries and go with my gut in November. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool liberal but enjoy good, dispassionate debate with conservatives. I don't like people on either side who can't see beyond their own talking points.

My presidential votes, starting in 1996: Clinton, Nader, Kerry, Obama. Obama. Presidential primary votes, starting in 2000: McCain, Kerry, Obama, Obama. My Gubernatorial votes, starting in 1998: Harshbarger, Stein, Patrick, Patrick. Gubernatorial primaries, starting in 1998: Harshbarger, Reich, Patrick, Patrick. (It's best to read this paragraph listening to Tom Petty's "Even the Losers.")

Religion

I'm agnostic, but take a firm "I'm OK, you're OK" stance towards religion and atheism. Good luck with your own credo. Life's too short to worry about what other people believe.

That said, I think some of the most innovative and compassionate forces in our cities and towns come from religious organizations. And anyone who helps out the poor and gives people hope is OK in my book.