POLITICS

22-year old Mackisey running for Ward 9 Council seat

Posted 6/11/20

By LAURA WEICK For Aaron Mackisey, running for a spot on the Warwick City Council is, according to him, simply a matter of being a good neighbor. At 22 years old, Mackisey announced that he is running for the Ward 9 seat on Council as an independent.

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POLITICS

22-year old Mackisey running for Ward 9 Council seat

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For Aaron Mackisey, running for a spot on the Warwick City Council is, according to him, simply a matter of being a good neighbor.

At 22 years old, Mackisey announced that he is running for the Ward 9 seat on Council as an independent. The seat is up for grabs since incumbent Steve Merolla is stepping down to seek the District 31 Rhode Island State Senate seat. 

“I really don’t believe that there is a ‘Democrat way’ or ‘Republican way’ that we can really run our city,” Mackisey said. “Party labels just get in the way of doing what's right for our neighbors.”

Mackisey received a Bachelor’s degree in musical theatre from Catholic University of America. He was also an actor for the Ocean State Theatre Company and Theatre by the Sea. However, he described feeling a pull towards public service, which his family has gravitated towards for generations. Mackisey’s father and two uncles have worked as state troopers, while two of his grandparents were firefighters.

“About halfway through my undergraduate career, I felt that I enjoyed theatre, but I felt that there was something missing,” Mackisey said. “I did an internship with Senator Jack Reed and figured out that policy was it for me.”

After obtaining his theatre degree, Mackisey enrolled as a graduate student at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, where he is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in international affairs. Mackisey explained that he is running for City Council because he felt that current public officials were not responsive to the concerns of citizens.

“I’ve noticed on a number of occasions my neighbors and family had public works issues, reach out to the city, and no one gets back to them,” Mackisey said. “My family felt like nobody was really there for their concerns. That’s why I not only want to help our neighbors but give them some confidence in our public officials.”

Mackisey’s policy goals include focusing more on public works projects in Warwick. He also admires Providence’s 311 initiative, which is an app and hotline citizens can use to request city public works services including sidewalk repair, public street cleanup and fallen tree removal. Mackisey said that he would like to see Warwick implement something similar to this.

As for Mackisey’s campaign strategy, it centers on reaching out directly to voters. Ideally, Mackisey would like to physically go door-to-door to build relationships with neighbors as both a public official and a community member. However, social distancing recommendations put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic have made Mackisey resort to phone calls and the internet to interact with potential voters.

If Mackisey is elected, he said he would continue directly interacting with constituents. He suggested that the council focus on doing what they can to help the community over partisan fighting. 

“I think we need a change of attitude on the council, and the way we approach doing work for our neighbors,” Mackisey said. “For the past eight months I’ve been attending council meetings, more recently via Zoom, and it's so bogged down and seems like a back and forth that is not helpful for our neighbors.”

politics, elections

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