Is Mish going to be mayor of Tel Aviv?At a special Yesh Atid party event taking place Wednesday evening at the "Roof of the City" in Tel Aviv, party chairman and opposition leader Yair Lapid, together with MK Orna Barbivai, announced the resignation of the Knesset member, thus entering the race for mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo in elections that will be held in about four months.
Barbivai's challenge will be to end Ron Huldai's control of the municipality, as he tries to win re-election on his way to a sixth and final term. Yesterday, 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, Mayor Ron Huldai and council members Tzipi Brand and Reuven Ladiansky, who served as deputy mayors until they turned against Huldai, are running.
Who will enter in the end? Tel Aviv City Hall, Photo: Gideon Markowitz
"Huldai - Your time has passed": Tel Aviv Deputy Mayor Tzipi Brand will run for mayor // Photo: Moshe Ben-Simhon
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.
Barbibai, No. 2 on the Yesh Atid list, is resigning from the Knesset after leaving no significant mark there. She won the support of party chairman Yair Lapid.
At the press conference, Lapid and Barbibai said Huldai is a good mayor, but after 25 years he needs to vacate his seat. Plans were not heard by Lapid and Barbivai, who were saturated with slogans.
Lapid: "Tel Aviv needs to be made more organized to help young people, it's time for a change, no one as talented as he may be who can do the job for more than 25 years. We offer an upgrade, not a revolution. Yesh Atid made a strategic decision to go for the liberal cities in 62 cities in Israel, because in local government the opposite revolution will begin."
The bride of joy Orna Barbivai admitted: "I chose Ron Huldai, but after 25 years in office, Ron must accept responsibility and not run. The city needs, it can't be impossible that it's time to return Tel Aviv to Tel Aviv. I had the desire to operate in Tel Aviv for many years, and in the last five years Tel Aviv is in a chaotic situation, I see south Tel Aviv as a destination for treatment."
During Barbibai's remarks, an unusual incident occurred when one of those present shouted at her, "Orna, why don't you run for mayor of Afula."
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