At 'Post' event, parties vie for support in Tel Aviv municipality elections

Among the most pressing issues at hand are parking, public transportation, the construction of luxury towers and the state of the city's parks.

By ORNA DICKMAN
A range of parties are vying for seats on Tel Aviv's city council and a slew of candidates are running for mayor in Tuesday's municipal elections. While only 27 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in Tel Aviv's previous municipal elections, this year's campaign has elicited a great deal of interest among city residents, young and old, and voter turnout is expected to be higher. As the election approaches and the race heats up, representatives from four parties convened last week at Beit Daniel for a debate sponsored by the Association for Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI) and The Jerusalem Post. In his opening remarks, AACI Executive Director David London commented on the need for the 300,000 English speakers in Israel, whose political opinions and party affiliations are diverse, to be involved in municipal elections. Noah Efron, from Ir Le'kulanu (City for Us All), represented MK Dov Henin (Hadash); Tom Misgav, from Oren, represented former IDF Maj.-Gen. Oren Shahor; Michael Roeh, from the Hayerukim Le'eichut Hasviva (Greens for Environmental Quality Party), represented candidate Pe'er Visner; and Yael Dayan, from Tel Aviv 1, represented Ron Huldai. They engaged in a spirited debate about issues of pressing concern for Tel Aviv residents, including parking, public transportation, the construction of luxury towers and the state of the city's parks. While the four failed to agree unanimously on a single issue, different constellations of three representatives were able to agree on certain matters. Efron described his party, headed by MK Henin, as a non-partisan movement bringing together people from the right and left sides of the political spectrum. Saying that he does not expect a subway to be completed in his lifetime, he outlined his party's proposal for a "quick, clean, efficient and inexpensive public transportation system" based on minibuses and using existing infrastructure. "A city works when it is a city for all of us," Efron said, calling for more transparency in City Hall, the opportunity for residents to access decisions and decision-makers, and an increase in the number of parks rather than luxury high-rises. According to Efron, City for Us All would make building permits contingent on the inclusion of affordable housing within the new projects. That, he said, combined with improved public transportation to periphery neighborhoods, would drive down housing prices in the city center. Misgav pointed out Shahor's managerial and military experience, saying that he would be able to implement tax relief for city residents, especially university students. Shahor's party, which has plastered banners around the city accusing Mayor Ron Huldai of "abusing" Tel Aviv residents, advocates allowing them to park in any designated parking spots throughout the city and has proposed levying a tax on cars coming into Tel Aviv, as is practiced in other parts of the world. The Oren list advocates increasing the municipality's education budget and reducing the number of children in each classroom to twenty-five. "Huldai runs the city with contractors and people who are close to him. The city doesn't belong to the people any more, but to a small group. He has created a city for rich people," Misgav said, describing the "city within a city" that he saw in south Tel Aviv. "If 10% of the budget that went to projects in north Tel Aviv was allocated to the south, we'd have a different city," he said, noting that residents of south Tel Aviv have no hope. He went on to propose that dormitories for university students be built there. Three of the politicians taking part in the debate pointed out the need to reform City Hall. "The municipal system is corrupt," said Michael Roeh, clarifying that people do not pocket money but that the decision-making process is corrupt. "Neither Huldai nor Henin have the guts to reform City Hall," Roeh claimed, pointing out his 10 years of experience in the municipality. Roeh said that luxury towers and parking lots may be built along the Ayalon Highway, but should not be permitted in the heart of the city. He described his experiences as a Green Party city councilman in implementing programs to protect and renovate Jaffa and pointed out the role that he and his party played in blocking construction along the sea and in Park Hayarkon. Roeh called for further development of Jaffa and advocated the construction of 5,000-6,000 housing units in southern Tel Aviv, which he said would reduce the demand for apartments in the city center, resulting in lower rent and housing prices throughout the city. Yael Dayan, who has served as deputy mayor of Tel Aviv for the past five years and holds the municipality's welfare portfolio, represented Mayor Ron Huldai's Tel Aviv 1 list and dismissed charges made by her fellow debate participants, stating that the city's education and welfare budgets are the highest they have ever been. "I'm running with pride to continue doing what I've been doing," Dayan said, accusing other candidates of having a sense of superiority. She acknowledged "huge" problems that her party would address, including the lack of affordable housing, the Florentine neighborhood, the park in Kiryat Sefer, the light rail system, and "Park and Drive" facilities outside the city. She noted that the first "Park and Drive" facility, located east of the city, has already been completed. Efron, Misgav and Roeh all claimed that Huldai is out of touch with city residents, saying that he has permitted the construction of too many luxury apartments that do not serve the average citizens of the city. To that Dayan stated that a program "long in coming but fast in developing" had been completed recently. She described the program as a collaborative effort between three deputy mayors, who consulted with experts from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology on urban planning, which is aimed at offering affordable housing to disadvantaged residents of the city ("Rented out" - Metro, October 10). Meanwhile, Dayan, Roeh and Misgav all took issue with the fact that Henin is a member of the communist Hadash party. They accused him of not being a Zionist, saying that as an attorney he has represented conscientious objectors. In response, Efron, who moved to Israel from the United States 25 years ago, said that Henin loves Israel and that diplomatic and national issues should not guide the municipal elections. He hailed Henin as having done more for the country's environment in his two years in the Knesset than anyone in Israel's history. "What I dreamed my Zionism would be is what Dov has been doing," Efron said. Regardless of whether the candidates' representatives were able to sway the opinions of those attending the debate, clearly some city residents already hold very strong opinions. As one senior citizen left Beit Daniel, an activist tried to give her a flyer. When the woman saw the candidate pictured on the flyer, she stormed off, telling the activist, "He can go to hell already."