The mayor of New Macedonia promises voters 500 apartments, among other things

Current mayor Aleš Bržan and his counterpart in Novo mesto, Gregor Macedoni, remain prominent figures ahead of local elections in Koper and Novo mesto. With nearly 212 municipalities, Slovenia is the European country with the highest number of municipalities relative to its population. On November 15, voters will choose new municipal councils and mayors or mayresses. The official election campaign began today, and the deadline for submitting candidacies expires tonight at 7 p.m. Who are the candidates in Novo mesto and Koper, and what promises do current mayors make? Notable names in Koper include Bržan, Popovič, and Jelinčič. Municipal electoral commissions must publicly announce confirmed candidate lists and lists of candidates by October 30. Based on the number of candidates, Koper is expected to see a fierce competition for the mayoral seat. Current mayor Aleš Bržan has announced his candidacy after two mandates leading the municipality. His priorities include water supply for the Slovenian Istria region, housing issues, and economic development of the municipality. Former deputy mayor Jasna Softić will address voters through her newly established party Blue and Red. After leaving the mayor's list and the position, she initially joined SD, but left this party in May this year. NSi and SLS will run together with candidate Jelko Železnik Markežič. SDS sends Petr Bolčič into the race. He replaces Jureta Colja, who stepped down from the candidacy last month, among other reasons due to demands from leadership regarding acquiring new members. Movement Freedom sends Matej Kozlovič Hrvatin into the mayoral contest. Also entering the mayoral race is SNS champion Zmago Jelinčič Plemeniti, who has been active in Koper for many years. Pirates' party will be represented by press representative of Koper theatre, Matej Sukič. The son of former mayor Nik Popovič is also running for mayor. His father Boris Popovič intends to run for mayor of Izola in the autumn elections. Leftists have announced that their candidate for Koper mayor will be Alan Medveš, secretary of the parliamentary group of Left in the National Assembly. In Novo mesto, three candidates have been announced so far. Novo mesto mayor Gregor Macedoni has announced his candidacy for his fourth mandate. Among the key achievements he highlights are organized and reliable water supply, strategically arranged system for waste processing and disposal, and establishment of a public university based in Novo mesto. His challengers are Srečko Vovko, supported by SD and Prerod, and Andrej Kastrevec from Movement Freedom. Novo mesto mayor Gregor Macedoni aims to secure conditions for building 500 apartments, constructing a sports hall, a new bridge, and a university campus. "Novo mesto has written an exceptional success story over the past decade. We offer continuation with experience, results, and a clear vision," he emphasized during today’s presentation press conference. Two parking houses in the city center He divided his program into four parts. The first part focuses on a friendly, safe, and connected living space, within which he wants to create conditions for building 500 new apartments for young people, elderly, and vulnerable groups. He plans new content for the city center, construction of a multi-purpose sports hall, and renovation of the Cultural Center Janez Trdin. Within the scope of transport and sustainable mobility, he intends to request with his list in the city council the earliest possible start of construction of the third development axis, emphasizing two new bridges planned over the Krka River. He also plans the construction of two parking houses in the city center. Within the scope of care for people and environment, he highlights balanced development of the city and countryside, construction of missing water and sewage networks, arrangement of more green areas, and improvement of conditions for active aging. For this purpose, he plans to visit all local communities in the municipality during the election campaign and listen to their needs, he said. As the fourth part, Macedoni emphasizes a development-oriented and ambitious municipality. This means that the municipality will support the development of a public university, construction of a university campus, and a science and technology park. He is happy to receive public support from any party In his team, he also formed a list of candidates for the Novo mesto municipal council named List Gregorja Macedonija. It includes candidates from different parts of the municipality and different occupational and generational groups. One of the candidates is current municipal councillor Janez Povh. He assessed that Novo mesto has become a city of great stories in 12 years of Macedonija's mayoralty, which can be continued with his re-election. Macedoni runs again as an independent candidate with voter signatures. However, he would also welcome any public expression of support from any party, he said. Movement Freedom sends Andrej Kastrevec into the mayoral race Movement Freedom sends municipal councillor Andrej Kastrevec into the mayoral race in Novo mesto. He promises greater citizen involvement in decision-making, balanced development of the city and countryside, and better solutions for traffic and housing issues. Freedom's municipal councillor Kastrevec runs for mayor with the slogan Return Novo mesto to the people. He also promises greater openness of the municipality and timely resolution of people's problems. In his program, he announces introduction of mayor's discussion hours and greater inclusion of citizens in decision-making and distribution of funds for local projects according to their actual needs. For this purpose, he would increase the budget for participatory budgeting to at least half a million euros, it is stated in his program. Robert Golob and Andrej Kastrevec | Photo: @Gibanje Svoboda Novo mesto/FACEBOOK Among his main tasks, he set himself the renewal of urban pedestrian traffic with new bus lines and more frequent trips. To reduce traffic jams, he proposes organizing parking spaces according to the park-and-ride system at city entrances and additional transport in traffic nodes. According to his view, the municipality should strengthen cooperation with the state in the construction of western Novo mesto bypass, southern part of the third development axis, and Smihel bypass.