Municipality 5 of Bari, which includes the Santo Spirito, Palese, San Pio and Catino districts, is called to renew the presidency for the next 5 years (2024-2029). Resident citizens, in the next electoral round on 8 and 9 June, will be able to choose between 3 candidates. The challenge will be entirely female: in fact, Krizia Colaianni (candidate of the centre-right supported by 8 lists), Mariarita Blasi (exponent of the Laforgia team supported by 4 lists including Movimento 5 Stelle and Bari Città) will compete for the role of president of Municipality V of Europe) and Maristella Morisco (PD candidate supported by 7 lists).
We asked the candidates 3 questions to introduce themselves to the citizens and illustrate their electoral programs.
A brief description of yourself
COLAIANNI: I graduated in 2010. In 2013 I took the exam for the forensic qualification following tax practice. I practiced at two American multinationals Getrag Spa and Emst & Young, managing at the same time to obtain a specialization diploma in legal professions, specializing in the judiciary. In 2018, having gained extensive skills in family and minors law, I founded the association La Forza delle Donne, spread nationwide with offices in various Italian regions, with various coordinations including legal, psychological/educational and medical, on the topic of equal opportunities and gender violence. As former President of the Association I signed two protocols with the Municipality of Bari, “the pact not to leave women alone” and “at school with the strength of women”. In 2020 I obtained a master’s degree in criminology, psychology and forensic graphology of passionate violence. In 2023 I obtained the European Gender Equality certificate. For my commitment in the field of endometriosis, as an information campaign and an active part in the drafting of the proposal for modification and integration to the regional law n.40 of 2014, I was appointed Honorary Member of the association La Voce di Una è la Voce di All. I am a professor of civil law and practice as a lawyer.
BLASI: I am a criminal lawyer who deals with juvenile distress, acting as curator and guardian of minors at risk and of abused women.
MORISCO: I am a doctor, always sensitive to socio-health issues. My main activity is basic medicine which I carry out daily in Municipality 5; For me, the doctor-patient relationship is the fulcrum of my activity. I have always been interested, together with local associations, in supporting the elderly and disabled. The sensitivity with which I face these problems leads me to use most of the day to help people in difficulty, not least my elderly parents who need affection and care.
What good has been done and what has not been done in the management of the Municipality
COLAIANNI: The term “Town Hall” indicates nothing more than a neighborhood, a district with representative methods that make it comparable to a mini-Municipality and with strengthened powers, but to date, the Municipalities still have little money, minimal skills and insufficient staff. At the moment, only Welfare is decentralized, even if the organization of services and user access methods are governed by the municipal sector regulations and the local social plan. Municipalities can regulate the functioning of the bodies, the forms of implementation of participation by the communities administered and the organization of offices and services. To allow the “tools” and “territorial governance acts” to be in tune with local realities and to be effectively implemented, the role of the Municipalities is essential. It is difficult to precisely reconstruct the list of projects and interventions financed with funds directly managed by municipal commissions and councils, with the commissions meeting every day, without leaving a trace on the Municipality portal or in the register. Transcripts of City Hall council meetings are often incomprehensible due to interventions not reported because they were out of reach of the microphones. The sports and culture chapters see a few thousand euros allocated. The transfers for welfare are larger, the destination of which is always agreed with the social workers, who translate the political directions of the municipal commissions into concrete projects. Minimize transfers on public works. The amounts relating to road maintenance and street furniture are also small. No expenditure items for greenery. The managerial decisions, the fulcrum of the activities and interventions, containing the spending commitments, the characteristics and purposes of the investments, represent the life of the Municipality. To ensure maximum transparency it is necessary to establish clear communication channels with citizens (website, social networks, newsletters, etc.).
BLASI: What’s good in municipality V is certainly the good will of the citizens to draw attention to the critical issues. In reality, nothing has changed for 40 years. We certainly need more cultural containers, we cannot think of the seafront only as a food and wine attraction, but also as important events so as to modify the tourist offer. Think about walks and therefore ad acta routes so as to accompany anyone who wants to discover a wonderful coast.
MORISCO: The program of the past 5 years has been concrete and ambitious and deserves the praise of all of us, but the works envisaged in the Pnrr must be completed and revisited, in particular the seafront road system. Furthermore, administrative decentralization must be encouraged and strengthened for better local planning of citizen services and support for families in economic and health difficulties.
Three priorities for the Municipality
COLAIANNI: Three points in addition to the essential services to be guaranteed including the immediate reopening of the registry office in Palese and the Family Counseling Center in San Pio. First point – Traffic and safety: traffic plan to allow fluid flow especially in the areas where it is most critical; widening of the roadway in Via Torre di Brengola; study on public transport and connections within the Municipality; app for reporting alternative routes in the event of road closures due to works, events or accidents, closure and opening of level crossings; identification of parking areas; forced removal of cars parked where it is not permitted; Easy Parking app. For Security: evaluate from a gender perspective through reconnaissance of the territory in all time slots to identify all the critical points and plan targeted interventions, evaluate the response times of a request for help and the methods of control of the territory by the Police. Planning must be accompanied by a periodic six-monthly check on the state of implementation of the set objectives; participation of citizens for the promotion of urban safety, the reference is in particular to the promotion of neighborhood control networks, i.e. volunteers who collaborate with the Local Police to create an active presence in the territory, additional and not replacing that ordinarily guaranteed by the local police; greater number of traffic policemen present in the area (12 on 2 shifts); actions to combat marginalization through the planning of collective recreational activities in public spaces and the creation of places of aggregation for adults capable of responding to the need for socialization and the recovery of specific skills in relation to their aptitudes and potential. Second point -Youth, School and Disabled: create a Youth Council with the aim of making young people feel an integral part of the urban fabric and the task of representing their interests, promoting dialogue and collecting proposals on youth issues, from school to university, from orientation to the world of work and from culture to free time. All young people residing in the Municipality between the ages of 16 and 35 can participate in the Consultation. Planning and increase of cultural activities and artistic workshops. Listening desks divided by area of expertise. Promotion of volunteering. Promotion of Pet Therapy. For schools: profile of each school building, assessment of the state of the places, list of necessary renovation works; consults schools with biannual hearings; analysis of the needs of students with disabilities and verification of the actual services and benefits provided. Third point – Commerce and Tourism: the maintenance of neighborhood businesses is the primary condition for combating closures and increasing the opening of other businesses to keep the area alive. These activities perform a social rather than economic function. The path, especially in those areas where there are no neighborhood activities, is to encourage the creation of multifunctional businesses, in which retail trade is accompanied by other services of interest to the entire community: an essential element for the populations locals.
BLASI: Three priorities are to implement decentralization in a territory that has significant specificities, to improve the road system with incentives for public transport and to leave cars at home, to eliminate the diversity linked to the working-class districts of San Pio and Catino, which have remained on the margins and abandoned to themselves without any service.
MORISCO: Municipality 5, being located further north than the city center, presents problems related to roads and transport by tires and rails. Furthermore, environmental pollution associated with the presence of the airport must be constantly monitored. Parking areas must be identified and a park and ride created with shuttles connecting the suburbs to the city center. Day centers for the elderly, home support for the chronically ill and nurseries for young families are essential. Being a local doctor, I am sensitive to the socio-health issues of the area. We need to strengthen family centers by integrating them with skills on supporting adolescence, disabled people and women victims of violence. I would like to intensify the information desks that facilitate health bureaucratic procedures, and carry out prevention and screening campaigns. A better connection with the police forces is necessary for effective control of the territory, especially in the areas surrounding San Pio-Torricella-Catino, improving lighting and installing a greater number of cameras. I would like to increase relationships with tourist agencies by creating events and festivals, thus intensifying tourism and nightlife on the coast. I would also like to redevelop open spaces by creating sports and recreational areas.
