Finding inspiration in the North End

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This article was published 29/09/2022 (774 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Chris Clacio rattles off the history of the cast bronze bell that rang out over city hall at the turn of the 20th century and the contemporary youth movement that gathered in the shadow of its current Selkirk Avenue tower home to oppose violence in the North End.

The 30-year-old mayoral candidate explains that when he joined the Stop the Violence rallies in 2014, he found camaraderie, safety and inclusion among the Indigenous youth leading the social-justice movement supporting a community reeling from criminal and gang activity.

As a second-generation Filipino-Canadian growing up in The Maples, Clacio says he was cut off from his cultural identity, and throughout his youth struggled to find belonging in any community. But he found his place in the support and welcoming embrace of the North End gatherings.

“Urban indigenous young people made that space welcome to diverse community members, that’s one of the reasons I want to run for public office,” he says.

The political rookie says the neighbourhood motivated him to put his name forward for political office, running for school trustee in the Seven Oaks School Division in 2014. He launched a mayoral bid in 2018 but came up short collecting the required 250 signatures to have his name on the ballot on election day.

Despite the long roster of candidates in this year’s race — he’s one of 11 — Clacio says he is excited about his relatively small-scale campaign, defining success as earning at least 3,000 votes in the Oct. 26 election and pushing his policy ideas into the broader debate.

“I believe that if you want to see more young people like yourself running you need to see a young person run for public office,” he says.

Walking down Selkirk Avenue past boarded or charred storefronts and bustling social-service agencies, Clacio says he’s angered by the systems that entrench poverty and stagnate economic growth in the neighbourhood.

The municipal government must prioritize the inner city and its residents, he says.

“We talk about citizens being the driver of the economy, but when people want to do things in their own local neighbourhoods they are stopped by different political systems and other institutions,” he says.

Clacio, who works full time at a local grocery store, describes himself as fiscally responsible, moderately liberal, socially progressive and environmentally friendly.

“I want citizens to see the potential in this city,” he says.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca