William Mansell, Patch Staff

Email: william.mansell@patch.com	

Phone: 941-387-6494

Hometown: Kansas City, MO

Birthday: 03/04/1986

Bio: William Mansell was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri where he developed his love for journalism reading the Kansas City Star. His dream job was to be cover sports for a living. After high school, William decided to pursue journalism in college. He attended and obtained and Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri.  

At the Columbia Missourian, William was a sports reporter, copy editor and web editor. It was while working for the Missourian that William learned he loved all facets of journalism.  From there, William moved to Sarasota in September 2009 and became a reporter with the Pelican Press.  In March of 2010, William expanded his role in journalism by entering the management field. He became the editorial director of Home Renovation Magazine in Orlando while continuing to live and report in Sarasota. 

In his spare time William enjoys watching the Mizzou Tigers, listening to music and playing basketball. William wishes Kansas City BBQ was available in Florida. 

Your Beliefs

At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable.

This disclosure is not a license for us to inject our beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that our beliefs are on the record will cause us to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

Politics 

How would you describe your political beliefs?

My political beliefs do not fall to the left or right. If I ever strike up a conversation about politics, I usually end up playing devil's advocate. I'm a firm believer in common sense and doing what's right for the greatest amount of people.

Are you registered with a certain party?

I am not registered with any party nor will I probably ever be. Both sides are wrong more then right. 

Religion

How religious would you consider yourself? (casual, observant, devout, non religious)

I'm a believer in Christ, faith and the Bible, but not in religion. I think religion tends to divide people. Looking at the world's wars, struggle and conflicts, differences in religion are almost always at the heart of the disagreement. 

Local Hot-Button Issues

What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?

Budgets and Schools. While these issues are nationwide problems, budgets and our school systems always bring about the most debate. Property values have fallen drastically and local municipalities and governments have been left with a smaller pool of money. Government entities are faced with either raising taxes or making drastic cuts. 

Where do you stand on each of these issues?

When people and the community are struggling financially, that is not the time raises taxes. Governments should try to make financial decisions with the people in mind first, not special interests or projects.