What I want from my mayor is…

From Alexandroupoli to Rhodes and from Syros to Drama, voters talk to Kathimerini ahead of Sunday’s polls about their communities and what they would like to see from their local government. Their views should not be seen as criticism but as a source of inspiration for the country’s newly elected mayors and regional governors.

TRIKALA

Maria Albani, gallery owner

Sanitation and waste management should go without saying in a modern European city; likewise aesthetically pleasing outdoor public spaces like squares, bridges and streets. Fill public spaces with art and cultivate the people’s respect! It is important that Trikala be filled with modern, public art, as is the improvement of the city’s look when you’re driving into it. It’s what makes a first impression on every visitor.

LARISSA

Thomas Kyriakos, civil engineer

I recently read that two important landmarks in Drama – the Marble House and the Sadirvan Mosque – were restored at the initiative of two prominent locals. In Volos, the city’s School of Architecture has restored 28 of its 50 listed buildings. In Larissa, which lost a large chunk of its urban history in the post-war period, decisions need to be made in this direction right now. Buildings like the Harokopou Tower need to be restored and the few landmarks left need to be listed for preservation, according to the recommendations of the local architects’ association. The restoration of the ancient theater is a first-class opportunity to create a bigger “historic center,” with the Bezesteni [Ottoman market], the other Ottoman and Byzantine monuments and the old commercial center, thus preserving all the different layers of history.

KATERINI

Thanos Kosyvas, writer and photographer

I expect the mayor to showcase Katerini’s historical and urban footprint. To record, salvage and promote its old and historic buildings. To create a museum of the city, which all the residents need desperately, in a historic building and have it run by the municipal authority. To create a municipal gallery and to open the collection of sculptures by Pierian artist Efthymis Kalevras held at the old primary school to the public. To create incentives for literature, reading appreciation among children and publications. To mobilize local creatives.

HALKIDA

Nikolaos Karatzas, archaeologist

Culture is one of society’s most powerful adhesives. It is letters and education. It is knowledge and the cultivation of thought, judgment and sensitivity. It is a lesson in democracy. Living in a city that has the privilege of being among the 10 oldest in Europe, Halkida, an area where every centimeter speaks of culture and history, I would like for it to be known in the future as the city of [composer Nikos] Skalkottas and [writer Giannis] Skaribas, the city of museums (two archaeological, one folk history and one art, the Vailou Residence, the War Museum, the Emir Zade Mosque, the Mytaras Gallery etc) and of cultural routes around the monuments and not just of the tavernas serving the admittedly delicious fish caught in the Gulf of Evia.

KOMOTINI

Giorgos Voloudakis, businessman

Komotini suffers from all the modern ailments afflicting most Greek cities. I expect the municipal authority to deal with the problem of illegal parking, which has become the rule, unfortunately, and is a daily source of hassle. To stop motorcycles from using the sidewalks and bicycle lanes for driving or parking. To increase the network of bicycle lanes and sidewalks. To add more greenery to the city, more areas for athletic activities and to take better care of the main park. I expect fewer spectacles and greater consideration for mundane things like lighting, cleanliness and the state of public spaces. I expect the municipality to defend public space for its citizens.

VOLOS

Kostas Akrivos, writer

I want to see vision, efficiency and integrity from the mayor. For a city to function properly – beyond the basics like sanitation and unencumbered sidewalks – the head of the municipal authority should not be stuck in the present, but should also create the infrastructure that will allow the city to offer a friendly and creative welcome to the next generations. For this to happen, though, the mayor needs to have a dynamic and efficient presence, with tangible results rather than promises and proclamations. As for integrity, this is the most important element in my opinion because the local “archon” is a reflection of the entire city. Vulgarity, ego, populist attitudes, verbal and physical harassment – we have seen both, unfortunately, in recent weeks – are suitable for thugs and not people holding an office that has been held by so many other mayors in a city with a special social and cultural history.

Kostas Adamakis, University of Thessaly professor emeritus of architecture

The devastating fires and floods of recent months that took such a heavy toll on Volos show us what needs to be done right after the local elections. We need a comprehensive and scientifically researched plan for preventing and managing natural disasters (fires, floods and earthquakes). We need an independent municipal authority dedicated to civil protection and staffed by capable people with expertise in the field, and to prioritize the following projects as a matter of urgency: creating fire buffer zones, carrying out anti-flood work to ensure the unencumbered flow of water along the three streambeds that traverse the city, making sure they are systematically cleared, and installing a permanent crew for cleaning rainwater pipes. Climate change is here.

PIRAEUS

Lefteris Lazarou, chef

I expect the cars parked along Piraeus’ central thoroughfares to go so that they no longer prevent visitors from enjoying its shops and restaurants and its unique seaside stretch. Why don’t you see cars double- and triple-parked along central Athens’ Stadiou or Panepistimiou streets, but you do in downtown Piraeus? Which, it must be said, has some of the cheapest parking facilities in Attica, charging well below the rates seen in Athens. The mayor, whoever that may be, should also sit down with a team of transportation experts and review the one-way street system that created more problems than it solved. I am also hearing of plans to pedestrianize a part of the coastal stretch around Peiraiki and I wonder where all the people who live in all those many, many apartment blocks will park. In short, if we want our city to grow and breathe, we need to do everything possible to make it easy for people from other areas to come here. And we need to think outside the box for solutions that will make daily life more attractive for its residents too.

THESSALONIKI

Kostas Sfikas, tour guide

I expect sensitivity and determination in safeguarding Thessaloniki’s architectural legacy. There are 6,000 important buildings waiting to be catalogued, restored and showcased – and I don’t even mean the important Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Jewish monuments. The townhouses along Vassilis Olgas and Vassileos streets, in the area of Evzonon and on Frangon Street need to be protected – and immediately. Our stock of historic buildings is dwindling fast: Mayor, save them. 

Stratos Kalafatis, photographer

The city needs to function as it did when the prime minister visited. With working streetlights, running fountains and streets that are clean and free of traffic – and the metro should be zipping back and forth beneath our feet!

Stavros Andreadis, businessman

The mayor needs to make a point of cultivating a relationship with the city’s young people and teenagers; adopt initiatives and find ways to reach out to them, to get them interested and engaged; and to appoint a deputy mayor who will be responsible for such a campaign. The chasm between local government and the youth is huge and it is, unfortunately, growing.

Giorgos Kordomenidis, writer and director of the Entefktirio literary journal

All I expect from the new municipal authority is what we should all expect, that it does its job properly: keeping the city clean, not just in the center, but also in its more remote or shabby parts; fixing the traffic nightmare by enforcing loading and unloading schedules, cracking down on illegal double parking, on wheelchair ramps etc, and preventing motorcycles and electric kick scooters from driving on sidewalks; maintaining and enriching the natural environment (instead of chopping down trees and not replacing them); protecting the city from floods; taking a more essential interest in culture by improving public libraries and supporting municipal music ensembles; taking care – as obliged by law – of stray cats and dogs; putting the good of the city first instead of flirting with whoever is in government in the hopes of securing a seat in Parliament. 

ATHENS

Alexander Papageorgiou-Venetas, architect and urban design historian

The expectations from any mayor who is elected for the first time or re-elected are usually huge. For Athens, I personally want two things. I want more thought and consideration when planning interventions in the outward appearance of buildings that are landmarks – like the National Archaeological Museum or even privately owned ones like the Hilton Hotel. On behalf of the people living in all seven districts of the City of Athens, I also hope the mayor uses unused land plots to create small gardens where we can catch our breath, and I also hope more small streets are pedestrianzed so that there is more free and green space among the concrete. 

Elias Potouridis, owner of the Opera Compact Disc music store

I want more free parking spaces for residents. Better lighting on Akadimias Street more generally and especially at Christmas as its decorations are much poorer than those on Panepistimiou and Stadiou. I want free minibuses for the city center. I want all stray cats and dogs to be spayed and neutered. Last but not least, I want the recyclable trash to be collected properly, not jumbled together with the regular trash.

Tasos Chalkiopoulos, head of the Atenistas urban activist group and the Athensville website

I would like legislation making owners responsible for the facades of their buildings to be activated so that apartment buildings and storefronts are clean and tidy and noncompliance is punished. This would not only strengthen residents’ sense of ownership, but would immediately improve the city’s appearance. I also want trees to be planted on all streets that don’t have any (like Koliatsou, Agios Loukas and other areas off Patission Street): Their presence would boost neighborhood morale. Lastly, in areas where there is no free space for new parks, like Patission or Acharnon, I would like to see parkways along the side of the roads and, without obstructing traffic, planting them with tall, shady trees, while also expanding the sidewalks.

Marilena Panourgia, publisher at Ikaros

As a resident of downtown Athens, I would like the matter of noise pollution to be addressed. A city that “never sleeps” may be attractive to visitors, but not to residents. As a publisher, I would also like to see more book-related events. Beyond the work being done by municipal libraries, book events could be held all over the city.

Areti Georgili, owner of the Free Thinking Zone bookstore

I want very specific and doable things that will bring our Athens closer to the standard of a developed European city: more shelters for battered women at more locations; more supervised injection sites for drug users; and an end to the chaos of loading and unloading trucks and to the anarchic spread of cafe tables and chairs, which is a source of so much hassle, and a municipal police force that does its job. Finally, one of my personal dreams is of small lending libraries all over the city, in every public square and space, like the wonderful Athens Book Space that was recently inaugurated at Eleftherias Park.

Urania Lampsidou, journalist and writer

What I want from the mayor is to be able to leave my house and see the nearby square looking clean and tidy, without broken benches, trash and mud. I want the cafes around it to reduce the number of tables and chairs crammed next to the illegally parked motorcycles, I want my street to have lights, which it hasn’t had for months, and I want the sidewalks to be free and safe for pedestrians.

CORINTH

Maria Christara, president of the Kalogeropouleio Foundation for Arts and Culture

I want the mayor to prioritize the people. Whatever they’re planning should be in this direction. They should choose people to work alongside them who share their vision, possess knowledge, a strong work ethic and dedication. They should focus on nurturing young children so that in a few years, we’ll have citizens who understand the concept of “us.” I want them to excel in collaborations, bringing together private entities and making them participants in the effort for a safe, humane life within our city. I want them to despise concrete and cherish nature, the arts and culture.

DRAMA

Kostas Vidakis, nature photographer

Out of respect for the city’s historic and cultural heritage and for its citizens, the mayor needs to revamp the iconic Agia Varvara Park with the springs and the municipal garden as the first step in a comprehensive plan for turning Drama into a modern, humane and safe city. I ask that inertia and ineptitude, ignorance and profiteering are words that are never associated with their tenure.

TINOS

Giorgos Amoiralis, businessman

I would like the mayor of Tinos to pick a capable team and work actively with it to provide solutions to a series of urgent problems in areas such as, among others, water sufficiency, healthcare, support for the primary sector and waste management.

PAROS

Zanneta Somaripa, businesswoman

To make sure that the health center has enough doctors, as they avoid coming here because they cannot find affordable accommodation. Furthermore, to see to a better road network and better sanitation, especially in the summer. Lastly, to free up not just the beaches that belong to the people, but also the public squares, which in my native Naoussa are under occupation from the businesses there.

SYROS

Vassiliki Samaniou, accountant

The mayor must work together with the citizens and, having a shared vision, must make the island friendlier not just to its permanent residents, but also to its summer visitors, by developing tourism through Syros’ rich cultural history and legacy.

ALEXANDROUPOLI

Theodosis Giannakidis, electrical engineer

I expect the mayor to be “good,” even though this means different things to different people. As an engineer, I want to stress the need for a new urban plan that takes a modern architectural approach and is environmentally friendly. As a resident, I expect, not to say demand, respect for our public spaces, an end to the occupation of sidewalks and beaches, to the unruly placement of objects and obstacles that hamper mobility. Whether it’s in the town or on the beaches, public space needs to be equally accessible by everyone so as to send the message that everyone matters and there are no first-, second- or third-class citizens. The municipal authority also needs to develop an efficient civil protection mechanism, including training and informing citizens on what to do in the case of natural disasters caused by climate change like the fires we had this summer. I look forward to all the different agencies working together in order to rid us of all that is ugly and problematic and to focus on all that is beautiful and positive, to pay attention to the small and big issues.

RHODES

Elena Gianniki, lawyer

A modern mayor needs to be an active member of the local community with experience in public engagement. He needs to be honest and incorruptible, professional and civic-minded. In Rhodes in particular, tourism cannot be an alibi for venality. Partnerships between the public and private sectors are essential, but on the basis of strict rules benefiting society. Public space, and beaches especially, needs to be protected from business interests on the basis of the law. A mayor must activate the spirit of volunteerism in citizens and work as their ally toward protecting the environment and dealing with the impact of climate change, with preventive measures and not mostly ineffective responses after the fact. They need to stand for all foreigners, be they wealthy tourists or migrants or asylum seekers and understand the global challenges. The mayor needs to be democratic, regardless of political affiliations, to inspire and to unite. The mayor needs to be a leader.

ARTA

Theocharis Vadivoulis, lawyer and handwriting analyst

I would like to see a plan for tomorrow, not to say the day after tomorrow. We do not have the luxury in 2023 to be shortsighted. No matter how successfully it is done, managing the day-to-day is insufficient. We need to link our long history to our vision for future generations, so that we can understand where we come from and where we want to go. I expect the mayor not just to love the city but to help every last citizen respect it. Then we will all be winners!

TRIPOLI

Zizi Saliba, economist and historian

The first order of business for the mayor of Tripoli is strengthening the sense of community so that residents and the local authorities make a joint commitment to create a strong local cultural identity and a natural and social environment that improves the quality of life.