The people of breitengubbach are called to the ballot box one year before the other burghers in the district in order to make an important local political decision. On sunday, 3. March, the election of a new mayor is on the agenda. And a new one – or a new one – will be created. For the incumbent head of the city council reiner hoffmann (UBB) is not running again. Unlike in the two previous mayoral elections, when hoffmann was the only candidate on the ballot – and received 93.43 (2007) and 91.53 (2001) percent of the votes – this time there are four candidates: alois ludwig (CSU), bernhard pfister (SPD), sigrid reinfelder (UBB) and franz schumm (independent).
Of the parties and groupings, the CSU is the strongest force in the municipal council. In the 2008 municipal elections, he won 29.9 percent of the votes, giving him five seats on the 16-member board, closely followed by the SPD, which won 23.9 percent and four seats. The independent burgerblock (UBB), led by mayor hoffmann, who has been in office since 2001, won three municipal council seats with 17.9 percent. Further seats went to the free electoral association zuckshut (13.7 percent/two seats), the free electoral association unteroberndorf (9.0/1) and the electoral association hohengubbach (5.7/1). The mayor was and is elected in breitengubbach outside the row, after hoffmann's predecessor erwin kuhnlein (), had resigned his office for health reasons and retired early.
No additional year
Originally, incumbent hoffmann wanted to add another year so that mayoral and municipal elections could take place synchronously again – as in the vast majority of bavarian municipalities – in spring 2014. But the corresponding change in the law finally provided that only the term of office of the mayors to be newly elected would be extended in order to have a common election date again in 2020. For example, in bamberg, where mayor andreas stark (SPD) was elected to an eight-year term in 2012.
With four candidates, it is not unlikely that the people of breitengubbach will be called to the polls again after 14 days to decide in a runoff election who will be their community leader for the next seven years. There will be no shortage of rough tasks. For years, for example, the traffic situation has been a central issue. The community in the main valley benefits greatly from its favorable traffic location.
Breitengubbach owes its existence to the 1200th anniversary of its founding last year. Anniversary of the first documentary mention celebrated – and development of the roads from south to north and the crossing point from east to west. Also, hardly any municipality of this size was allowed to have three freeway access roads. And yet, in the opinion of the people of breitengubbach, there are still too few people driving around the town on the A73. Far too many people – especially trucks – are still on federal highways 4 and 279.
However, this is now increasingly becoming a problem, because the residents of the main road in the village, the B4, are feeling more and more burdened by the traffic that drives through the village every day. The residents have therefore founded a citizens' initiative with the aim of banning truck traffic and avoidable car traffic from the town and making this main road livable again for its inhabitants. Freeway options have already been created, but they are still being underused.
In addition to the road, a railroad line also runs through breitengubbach. With the expansion of the ICE network, breitengubbach is also facing new problems: apart from the larm, two bridges have to be rebuilt and one even newly built. The train station will be just one stop, but with a tunnel and ramps, easily accessible by all. These two points alone, which are being discussed in the election campaign, raise another problem: who will pay for all this?? Are breitengubbach's funds enough for this?? New loans have to be taken out again? When to pay what? "The silverware is gone, the chamberlain had said in one of the past meetings.
Presentation of the candidates
The french daily will present the four candidates for mayor early next week. Then alois ludwig (CSU), bernhard pfister (SPD), sigrid reinfelder (UBB) and franz schumm (no party) will have the opportunity to present their ideas for the future of breitengubbach.