Against the backdrop of the public debate over whether the municipal elections can be held on January 30, we invited the chairman of the Kfar Saba elections committee, Eran Werner, to the studio. According to him, the elections should not be postponed, even though he understands the implications. "The law to set a new date for the elections was already enacted about a month ago – shortly after the campaign began, but the discussion about the final date began recently – and it has not completely permeated," he explains. "If I talk to the contestants, the feeling is that the last word has not been spoken. The public doesn't pay attention to the elections now, neither do the candidates. It even seems flawed to conduct campaigns and political discourse. I think it's a complex issue of whether to have a choice or not. There are arguments one way or the other – but I think the elections should be held as soon as possible – because that is the essence of democracy. It is impossible to allow an enemy or a terrorist organization to rule orders. It's part of national resilience. Whatever we choose, this election will be a kind of handicap election."
IDF forces in Gaza, photo: IDF Spokesperson
On the other hand, we spoke with Guy David Marciano – a member of the Karmiel municipal council, who ran for mayor and was recruited under Order 8. "We, hundreds of candidates, spend 68 days in reserve duty, and we don't run a political campaign," he explains. "And unfortunately, we are unable to respond as public representatives to the public. If there had not been a war, the elections could have been held. But that doesn't give us the option today."
On the other hand, he says that the mayor and the people who did not enlist have the opportunity to continue to be exposed to the public – and thus they continue the campaign. "The interior minister had to go to the field and meet the candidates and see how they were doing there – and accordingly make the decision whether to hold the elections. Mayors and deputies who continue as usual are taking advantage of this situation."
Werner: "It is impossible to allow an enemy or a terrorist organization to have order of government. It's part of national resilience. Whatever we choose, this election will be a kind of handicap election."
The person who returns to run after two terms is former Knesset member Danny Atar, former chairman of the JNF and former head of the Gilboa Regional Council, Danny Atar. "The reality that existed justified the first postponement [of the elections] to January 30. Today, we are making great efforts to return our country to a kind of routine in the shadow of war. Part of this process is that this election campaign needs to end. Today, many of the municipalities are not functioning for many months because a large part of the mayors are running the election campaign."
Danny Atar, Photo: Gideon Markowitz
Are you going to run a regular campaign?
"Nope. On October 7, I stopped everything. It involves very large expenses, we started to restart the engines in a completely different kind of campaign – a quiet campaign. It will not be accompanied by conferences, noise, music and convoys. A moment of home classes, in-person and digital meetings. It's right to do things quietly."
The full interview in episode 15 of "My City" from Israel Hayom. Listen to the episode - and other interesting episodes
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