MANCHESTER, N.H. – Three months after he announced his intent to run, Ward 5 Aldermanic candidate Jason Bonilla officially kicked that campaign off at a gathering at Sheehan-Basquil Park, specifically nestled between two baseball diamonds on Lincoln Street.
Bonilla is no stranger to those baseball diamonds, telling the assembled crowd about his time coaching Little League baseball in the park, but that ultimately was not the reason why he chose the park as the location for this event. Bonilla’s reason instead came in part due to the park’s geographic location in the heart of the city while also serving as a symbol for the need to invest more resources in Ward 5, noting that the park has not for years had a filled swimming pool while that is not the case in other parts of the city.
Bonilla says that if elected, he will seek to clean up the city’s parks and advocate for other infrastructure improvements as well increase efforts to remove opioids from the streets, support more affordable housing and potentially transition the former Henry Wilson Elementary School into affordable apartments, working to make it easier to start and maintain small business in the city and support the city’s public education system.
With education in particular, he feels that his role as Ward 5’s Board of School Committee member provides proof of his ability to reach out and build consensus, including his advocacy for the proposed new Beech Street Elementary School, the first new Ward 5 school in 50 years.
Wednesday’s kickoff at the park marked the official beginning of the campaign, but supporters had been coming to him since his announcement to campaign on his behalf. Bonilla was satisfied to see that support concentrated and ready to be unleashed.
“I’m happy the community pulled up for me and it’s a great kickoff to launch my campaign to become Alderman for Ward 5,” said Bonilla. “People have been coming to me and asking ‘what can we do to help you?’ And then I went around and gave them signs. People were asking me to put my sign up, and there’s more signs I’ve got to place, I think that just shows the network of support I have in the city.”
One of those supporters is Ward 5 resident Karen Johnson. For Johnson, Bonilla represents a significant change from outgoing Ward 5 Alderman Tony Sapienza, who she says was largely absent when it came to connecting with constituents.
“We’ve been missing services and we’ve been missing someone who genuinely cares about us. I believe that Jason is going to wake us up and get us going,” said Johnson. “I believe that (Bonilla) can get other Aldermen to come to the table and listen to our needs and in what’s going on and then come back and communicate with us here in Ward 5. We’ve had no one do that for years. We’ve had a person in the spot, but no one that ever worked for the community.”
The event brought out supporters from other parts of the city as well, such Elyza Agosta of Ward 2. Agosta got to know Bonilla during his help with the Queen City Bike Initiative’s event at the current Beech Street Elementary School. She says that Sapienza’s endorsement of Bonilla is a positive in her book.
“I have very much seen the need for community in Manchester and I think Jason has hit the nail on the head with the idea of using unity to build community and make changes in our city,” said Agosta. “I know that (Sapienza) has mentioned Bonilla several times and I think Jason will actually do the work. He has it in him and he has the community with him.”
The event also drew elected officials from around the city, such as Alderwoman Christine Fajardo, who serves in Ward 4, just north of Ward 5.
“I’m really excited to see somebody young, bilingual, and such a servant in the community decide to run. I feel like we need more people with Jason’s qualities on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, and really all of our boards,” said Fajardo. “Seeing someone like Jason step up is really exciting. I think he’s going to do really well in the fall and I look forward to doing what I can to support Jason in any way I can.”