QUINCY – Manny Rodriguez is on the ballot to run for mayor of Quincy. The 35-year-old raised in Quincy said he hopes to give back to the community which he grew up in. 

“Based on just my lived experiences, I think I’m more than qualified to run for mayor here in the small town of Quincy,” said Rodriguez. “We have under 10,000 residents and they all look like me. We have a 90% Latino population here in Quincy, so I think it’s very important that we have somebody in leadership that really represents our community.” 

Coming from a household where both parents were immigrants was important in building who he is as a person, he said. Growing up and watching his parents get the chance to live the American Dream of owning their own businesses and property inspired him in his own future. 

Rodriguez said he previously spent 14 years in nursing, where he spent time in the Emergency Department, retirement homes and working as a travel nurse. He said this work gave him good experience in communicating with people from all walks of life. 

Over the last ten years, he has taken an initiative to become more involved in the community in Quincy and in the surrounding communities as well, he said.  

“My biggest reason (for running) would be my kids and my community,” said Rodriguez.  

Housing has been a challenge to residents living in Quincy, as homes have become less affordable, said Rodriguez. Alongside this he said the rapid growth of the city is something that has been something that has been a challenge, as there has been an increase in both housing development and new businesses coming into the area and bringing even more people from all around the country. 

“We’re getting all kinds of people from all over the country here in Quincy, but our own people are being left behind when it comes to jobs,” said Rodriguez. “Work training and things like that, (that’s) where we need to focus so we can really get our people up to speed and so they have opportunities to work at some of these data centers or buy some of these homes.” 

Rodriguez said that he plans to be transparent through social media, staying readily available through any means of communication and continued attendance at different community events around the city. 

If elected, he would also like to propose to the city council to have livestreamed meetings and have interpreter services available to help the public have more opportunities to be included in the conversation. 

To learn more about the campaign, visit vote4manny.org.