Mayor Leo Diana works to strengthen town

Leo Diana was elected to the position of Manchester’s mayor in November 2011. Photo by Martha Marteney.

“I love being mayor,” said Manchester Mayor Leo Diana during a Jan. 18 interview with the ReminderNews. “I feel like the mayor is the cheerleader for the town.”

What does it take to be the “face” of Manchester? In addition to having pride in Manchester and a positive outlook, the mayor needs a lot of energy to be able to balance the needs of the office, a career, a family and personal time. “People really respect the position of mayor,” said Diana. “I take it very seriously.”

Having served on the Board of Directors and as the past deputy mayor, Diana knew the role of mayor would be a big time commitment, with the many events the mayor attends. What he had not considered, however, was the time needed to write the many speeches for all those events. He also quickly learned that it works best for him not to eat or drink at the events, in part because he keeps a fairly strict diet as a vegetarian and either runs five miles a day or works out at the gym to keep his artificial hip healthy.

Reflecting on the months of canvassing prior to the November 2011 election, Diana recalled the constant themes expressed by many residents, including the need to keep the roads and sidewalks in good repair, and keeping taxes low. “Overall, people were pretty happy with the services the town provides,” said Diana. He also learned that many people watch the Board of Director meetings, and other town meetings as well, via Channel 16.

“Many people were happy with the cooperative governance,” said Diana. He noted that the Board of Directors has worked to overcome petty politics, and is looking forward to getting things done that will make the whole town proud.

One such project is the redevelopment of the Parkade and Broad Street. The town recently moved to purchase the properties between Broad Street and Center Springs Park, and Diana is looking forward to the Redevelopment Agency’s suggestions on the area.

Diana would like to see Main Street the next focus of attention, and he expects the voters will be given an opportunity to decide on the improvements to the Mary Cheney Memorial Library in November. He is also hopeful that the presence of Manchester Community College on Main Street will give entrepreneurs the incentive to open up new and innovative businesses.

Speaking of the recent meeting between the Board of Education and the Board of Directors, Diana said, “It’s put this issue of long-term planning of the schools on the front burner.” He feels there has not been enough long-term investment in the eight elementary schools. “If we don’t start spending some money on the problems,” he said, “they’ll be totally unfixable.” He noted that the planning also needs to address the pressure from magnet schools and other school choices. The reason for the past inaction, Diana explained, is that no one wanted to make the financial decision of either raising money or cutting services. “Someone has to be courageous enough to tackle this challenge,” said Diana.

That is not to say that Diana only sees the negative in town.

“I think we have a great recreation reputation,” he said, noting that the soccer, basketball and softball programs, for example, are some of the amenities that make Manchester a nice place to be, as well as the many hiking trails throughout town. The possible addition of an indoor athletic facility would also be a major attraction for families and seniors alike looking at Manchester as a possible place to live.

He is also proud of the Manchester Road Race, of which he is the secretary, and Cruisin’ on Main, as great events that bring out so many people.

At the recent celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, Diana saw how proud the elementary school children were of their community service projects. “The kids were beaming,” he said. “That’s the side of Manchester people don’t see.”

Diana is also pleased with the upgrades to the water treatment facility; the “fine-tuned machine” of emergency services, including police, fire and EMS; and the town’s Department of Health and Human Services, which he said especially excelled during the recent storms.

In the next couple of months, the Board of Directors will be focusing on the budget.

“I think there’s a good vibe, and a lot of common sense,” said Diana about the cooperation he anticipates will continue with the current board. “It’s not an ‘us versus them’ board,” he said. He hopes to continue the momentum established by previous mayor Lou Spadaccini. Diana credits the combination of a cooperative management style with the personalities of the individual board members for the on-going cooperative governance, along with open and continual communication.

If given a “magic wand” to make changes in town, Diana said he would like to see the industrial park fully occupied, because the smaller manufacturing facilities provide opportunities for skilled labor, including reasonable salaries with benefits. Such jobs would be available to graduates of trade schools, such as Cheney Tech and MCC. This would also tie into his goal of seeing Manchester’s regional strength expanded.

“I’m generally a really positive person,” said the 50-year-old Diana. A life-long resident of Manchester and one of seven children (including a twin brother), Diana still lives in the house on Pitkin Street in which he was born. Married since 1989, Diana has four children. He is an attorney, mediator and divorce lawyer with an office on Main Street. Self-described as a “control freak,” Diana said he likes to be totally involved in whatever he does. Referring to the time demands from work, family and the town, Diana said, “It’s almost the more you do, the less tired you are.” It’s a good thing he only needs five hours of sleep a night.