Riley Smith
ony Mancini has run in elections before, but not like this.
“The previous two campaigns we literally knocked on thousands of doors. And I just felt that because of Covid the risk wasn’t worth it,” he explains in a phone call with The Coast. “Because let’s say that either myself or one of my volunteers was sick and they had it traced back, can you imagine that?”
Instead, Mancini is trying to reach out to residents the best way he knows how, by showing them he’s capable of making change.
“I interact with a lot of people on social media and such, but Mrs. Jones who’s in Woodlawn that’s 80 may not be on Twitter,” he says. “The only way that I reach out to her is maybe my newsletters, or at a church supper. So not knocking on doors that was a tough decision, it wasn’t an easy decision.”
After winning his seat in a by-election just eight months before the 2016 municipal vote, Mancini has had four years to work for his community, which saw upgrades to Farrell Street Park, beginning to restore the Elmdale Run waterway in Woodside, and creating Canada’s first outdoor library at the Dartmouth North Community Centre.
He says the community centre always had a small library, "it was well used but there was more that needed to be done,” he says. “The wall literally opens up and there’s a big balcony, a huge very unique playground and people can take out Chromebook and whatever and be outside.”
If he’s re-elected for the upcoming term, Mancini wants to focus on the findings of the Wortley Street Check report, addressing climate change, and expanding transportation in his district. “It’s not as reliable and frequent as it should be, into Burnside and into Dartmouth North, particularly for those that work different hours and such,” he says.
Mancini is also hopeful that he can continue to be a part of fostering positive change in the community.
“We as a council accomplished a lot. I personally in District 6 accomplished a lot but there’s still more work to be done, that’s why I’m running again.”
