Minervini has been a close collaborator of bishop
Antonio Bello and in 1985 he founded the "House of Peace", a point of reference for the fight against crime for many young people in the city. A progressive catholic, in 1994 Minervini was elected mayor of
Molfetta as an
independent supported by the
Alliance of Progressives, becoming the first mayor elected directly by the people of
Molfetta. He was re-elected in 1998 with the support of
The Olive Tree coalition, and in that year he joined
Romano Prodi's
The Democrats, that later converged into
Francesco Rutelli's
The Daisy. During his administrative term, he laid down the conditions for the development of the industrial area of
Molfetta. After the
2005 Apulian regional elections, Minervini supported the
centre-left candidate
Nichi Vendola and was elected regional councilor, becoming the most voted candidate in the
province of Bari. Vendola appointed him Councilor for transparency and active citizenship, with delegations to sport and youth policies. Minervini was re-confirmed as regional councilor after the
2010 regional elections and this time was appointed Councilor for mobility and transports. In his ten years as councilor he was remembered for the call for the social reuse of assets confiscated from
the Mafia, the reorganization of regional offices and, above all, the
Bollenti spiriti program that promoted training and the start of work for thousands of young Apulians. On 31 January 2013, Minervini revealed that during the previous year he found out that he had
cancer. Despite his health problems, he did not lessen his political commitment, turning his attention especially to the fight against illegal hiring. In 2014, Minervini was a candidate for the
centre-left primaries to choose Vendola's successor as gubernatorial candidate, together with the former
mayor of Bari Michele Emiliano and
senator Dario Stefano: Minervini reached third place, behind the winner Emiliano, who was later elected governor, and Stefano. Despite his critical attitude towards Emiliano, Minervini supported him during the
2015 regional elections and was re-elected at the regional assembly as the leader of the movement
Us on the Left for Apulia, becoming the group leader in the assembly. Minervini lost his battle against
cancer and died on 2 August 2016, at the age of 55. == References ==