Miranda Rocca-Circelli is running for Mayor in Greater Sudbury.
Miranda (she/her) was born and raised in Sudbury by an immigrant father, Ugo Rocca and a second-generation immigrant mother, Sonia Rocca (née Cacciotti). Along with her sister Sabrina Rocca, she was raised to understand the merit of hard work, the importance of being authentic, and the value of community. Like her entrepreneurial-minded father, she is the founder and operator of three small local businesses and one not-for-profit community-based organization for youth. She built all of this while raising her family. She acquired two degrees from Laurentian University and graduated in 2009 with a Master’s Degree in Distance Education from Athabasca University. She has always had a passion for working with the public. Her focus has always been on identifying people’s needs and building capacity to address community gaps. She believes a mayor's first priority is to serve the community's needs and to build and sustain a brighter future.
Why are you running for this position?
I am running for mayor of the City of Greater Sudbury because I believe our city is in need of a positive change. I understand that to foster change you have to become part of the solution. I was born and raised in this city, built my businesses here for the past 15 years, and I am raising three children in this community. I believe that my experiences will bring real world experience to the mayor’s office.
Our people and our city deserve the care and attention to be able to truly become a city that can prosper. I have observed that our municipal government has made efforts to disenfranchise some members of council and citizens. This has affected how we do business, and hindered the attraction of new development; if our city is going to prosper now and, in the future, we need to vote for change. I am committed to being a leader who can guide us into a thriving city by focusing on innovative ideas to create revenue streams that will aim to subsidize taxes. I will also look to ways to engage our citizens, and start to rebuild our city to create opportunities for growth and sustainability.
What innovative projects would enhance life in your municipality?
Projects that focus on the wellbeing of our citizens. We need to focus on getting our city back to a place where our citizens feel a sense of belonging and connection.
Acquiring the Laurentian's Athletic department as a northern Ontario multipart facility can help to create a sense of community and bring people to our city along with creating a space for families to play indoor sports and have tournaments north of Barrie, ON.
Projects that focus on creating resources and support for our vulnerable population including homeless, human trafficking, seniors, and mental health to name a few.
Projects that focus on the environmental sustainability of our city, such as bylaws that limits the use of chemicals in the products we use on our roads as one example.
If you received a $1 million grant to use for your municipality any way you wanted, what would you do with it?
I believe that with a grant of $ 1 million dollars we should allocate that money amongst the amalgamated towns so that they can address their communities in their growth and development and provide the towns with some autonomy.
What do you think are the greatest challenges your municipality faces?
Connecting with our citizens and making decisions that are focused on the needs of our citizens.
Other than the official ways of communicating (minutes, municipal notes), how else will you reach out to your constituents to involve them in the decision making process?
Great Question. There are many ways we can connect with our citizens. This can include: Focus group sessions on topics and matters, scheduling a council meeting to be conducted in each of the amalgamated towns, create a space at council meetings for the public to have a voice (such as a mic or method for citizens to submit their concerns, via text etc..), Blog to provide transparency on what is happening in the city and from the mayor's perspective, podcast with members of the community who can speak to their initiatives, open social media and assign a facilitator/moderator to the chats so that progressive dialogue can be conducted.
What is your favourite thing to do in your municipality?
Enjoy the outdoors with my family.
Why do you think it’s important for women to be represented in civic leadership, including on committees, boards and municipal councils?
I believe it is import to diversify representation in any organization, this is to ensure that when making decisions and advocating on behalf of citizens we can best represent all citizens, and we can do this by creating inclusive opportunities. Women provide unique perspectives based on their experiences, and considering the unique needs woman have can help organizations make decisions that are inclusive and supportive to the needs of woman.
What does a ‘feminist city’ mean to you?
I have never heard this term. I would assume that the "feminist city" is a city that advocates on behalf of women's needs and rights including equality in different sectors.
Please identify the most critical policy, project, or initiative in your platform that addresses systemic barriers faced by women in your municipality, and describe why:
I am currently unfamiliar with any barriers that may exist at the municipal level that affect women specifically, that is not to say that barriers do not exist, it is to say I have not experienced them personally at the municipal level. This is something that if it does exist, I would like to learn more about so that I can best determine how to address such barriers.
For me, the decision to run for mayor in our city, where the role of mayor and other administration roles have predominantly been represented by male figures locally, the decision to run has contributed to addressing systemic barriers faced by woman locally. This is not an easy feat to go against "the old boys club" as it has been labelled by many citizens who have reached out to me, acknowledging how I am breaking barriers for woman in my choice to simply run for mayor in our city.
I do believe the work that you do for your organization to support woman can be extended to create more opportunities to educate and create awareness for more woman at the municipal level.
Social Media Handles
Where can people find you?
www.miranda4mayor.ca
705-920-9171
