A little more than four months remain until the local elections and the campaign is heating up. Tomorrow (Wednesday), the election campaign for mayor of Tel Aviv is expected to take another step towards money-time, when Knesset member and reserve general Orna Barbivai will announce, together with MK Yair Lapid, her candidacy for mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Meanwhile, today Yuval Zellner also announced his run for mayor. Zellner, a real estate developer by profession, served as a member of Knesset for the Kadima party for a cumulative year, at the end of the 18th Knesset and the end of the 19th Knesset. In addition to these two, there are also Mayor Ron Huldai and council members Tzipi Brand and Reuven Ladiansky, who served as deputy mayors until they turned against Huldai.
Announce her candidacy. Orna Barbivai, Photo: Sarya Diamant
Barbibai, number two on the Yesh Atid list, won the support of party chairman Yair Lapid, leaving Chief of Staff Dr. Roy Elkabetz, who serves as Yesh Atid's sole representative on the Tel Aviv City Council.
Yuval Zellner, a former Kadima member who also announced his candidacy, noted that Tel Aviv is separate and will work under his leadership for administrative and municipal independence, noting that the basic rights that every resident of his city has eroded over the years and that the rights must be restored to Tel Aviv residents and their children in their city of residence. "Tel Aviv must first and foremost take care of the quality of life of its residents and not subjugate the quality of life in the city to the benefit of over a million and a half guests who visit it every day," he said.
Another contender is Amos Shapira, who began the mayoral race two years ago, when Huldai wanted to run for the Knesset. Shapira, who grew up in south Tel Aviv and became El Al's CEO, presents solutions in education, housing and transportation, and has promised not to serve more than two terms.
Will compete for the fifth time. Huldai, Photo: Coco
Tzipi Brand, who launched her campaign this week, will focus, among other things, on the "battlefield" called Rehovot Ha'ir, among other things, we published in Israel Hayom earlier this week that she is committed that within four months of her election as mayor, residents will decide how to significantly restrict scooters in the city, after Huldai surrendered to transportation terror. Brand says she will work to formulate a new policy regarding scooters, after 97% of the city's residents want to change the policy and impose restrictions, according to a survey conducted by the city.
Another contender is Reuven Ladiansky, who two weeks ago announced that he would run for mayor. Three days after his announcement, Ron Huldai informed him that he was dismissing him from his position as commissioner of the environment, sustainability, urban nature and improving the face of the city, and would ask at a city council meeting to dismiss him from the deputy mayor as well.
"Huldai - Your time has passed": Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Tzipi Brand will run for mayor // Credit: Moshe Ben-Simhon
Ladiansky attacked Huldai, saying: "Huldai, I guess among yourself, you know that this was your worst term as mayor. For the past two years, the city has not been managed, there is no "landlord". And in fact, this city has no leader!" According to Ladiansky, the public space is abandoned to various radical Orthodox bodies such as Chabad and Messianic Torah nuclei from the school of Smotrich, Ben-Gvir and Avi Maoz, which have significantly and worryingly increased their activities in the city. Ladiansky also emphasized that the city is also abandoned to NTA and real estate developers, it is abandoned in terms of transportation, and the city's state education system is also collapsing.
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