He is 82 years old and on May 28 he appears again
The mayor of Matillas, second from the left, awarded in 2019 by the FEMP/ Photo: FEMP
Twenty-two towns in Spain have only had one mayor in the forty-four years since the first democratic municipal elections were held in 1979.
Some were already councilors during the dictatorship and most of them will run again in the elections on May 28, so if they win and finish the legislature, they will serve nearly half a century in office.
In Guadalajara there are several long-serving mayors in office, but only one surpasses Ignacio Gordón, mayor of Matillas, who on May 28 will present himself again for the PP, to revalidate the position.
Ignacio Gordón is 82 years old and has been mayor of Matillas since the dictatorship. Specifically, since 1973.
As he has assured EFE, he is still strong enough to continue as mayor on the PP lists, although he acknowledges that there are times when he “loses the desire” and that he does not know if, in the case of winning the elections again, the four-year term will expire. “Even if you are excited, at this age everything becomes more uphill”, has commented.
It must be remembered that in 2019 Gordón, along with other mayors, was honored in the Senate by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces for having been in office for more than 40 years.
Another very long-lived mayor in Guadalajara is Mauricio Martinez Machon that in 2022 he turned 50 as mayor of Valdarachas. Mauricio, 90 years old, as announced, has not appeared in the May elections.
Along with Ignacio Gordón, the ten mayors with the longest tenure behind them are:
SENÉN POUSA, BEADE (OURENSE)
The mayor of the small municipality of Beade, Senén Pousa, 83, is one of the longest serving, having been a councilor since before the 1979 elections.
Pousa, who has always won by an absolute majority since the first elections, has been the subject of some controversies, mainly for having “Face to the Sun” as a ringtone on his mobile phone and for celebrating masses every November 20 in honor of Franco.
After the decision of his party, the PP, to put another mayor at the head of the candidacy, Pousa has decided to run as an independent in the elections on May 28 and may resume the masses.
SALVADOR PEREZ, VILLAROYA (LA RIOJA)
The mayor of Villaroya, Salvador Pérez (PP), can celebrate half a century in charge of this town hall if he wins the elections on May 28, although he is convinced that he will revalidate the mandate because a PSOE list led by “someone” who is not from the town, which has seven inhabitants.
Pérez, 76, has indicated that Villarroya is “Very good, with well-kept houses, streets in good condition and municipal services in good working order”so it feels “proud” that these achievements have been achieved with him as mayor.
MANUEL MURCIANO, MOSCARDÓN (ARAGON)
At 80, Manuel Murciano repeats as a candidate for mayor of Moscardón with the same enthusiasm as when he started, although, according to EFE, he now has “much more experience”.
Murciano (Aragonese Party) defends the right of the elderly to have “illusion” and comment how you feel “very proud” from his neighbors for the support they have given him these 44 years.
PERE MORADELL, TORROELLA DE FLUVIÀ (GIRONA)
The hardest time that the councilor of Torroella de Fluvià, Pere Moradell (PSC), remembers in the almost 45 years he has been in charge, is “the peak moment of the process”.
As the 71-year-old mayor has told EFE, “it was difficult to endure being a socialist”, since I received “attacks from several fronts” by “national issues”.
Moradell will run again in the 2023 elections because “He likes to work for his people.”
LUIS PARTIDA, VILLANUEVA DE LA CAÑADA (MADRID)
At the age of 76, Luis Manuel Partida is once again a PP candidate for mayor of Villanueva de la Cañada, where he has always managed to govern with an absolute majority.
In these 44 years, the town has gone from having just over a thousand inhabitants to the current 24,000, which has significantly complicated the management of a municipality that is even home to two universities.
CARLOS RIVERA, TORREMOCHA DE JARAMA (MADRID)
The mayor of Torremocha de Jarama, Carlos Rivera, has confirmed to EFE that he will run again as a candidate for his independent group, with which, like Partida, he has won with an absolute majority all these years.
According to Rivera, in these 44 years this municipality of 1,135 inhabitants “It has changed a lot” And his last challenge is to avoid interruptions in the Internet connection.
EVARISTO DOMINGUEZ, MERUELO (CANTABRIA)
The mayor of the Cantabrian town of Meruelo, Evaristo Domínguez, assumes that the elections on May 28 will be “the beginning of the end” of his political leadership. He also believes that this will happen with Francisco Asón, the other oldest mayor of Cantabria.
“The greatest satisfaction is having been able to help the neighbors and to be recognized on the street for this work”maintain both Domínguez (75 years old) and Asón (72) in an interview with EFE.
Domínguez, who has always won by an absolute majority, headed the Meruelo Independent Association in 1979 and in the following elections the project hatched into the Popular Alliance to later lead the PP in his municipality.
FRANCISCO ASON, RIBAMONTÁN AL MAR (CANTABRIA)
Francisco Asón appears at 28M after estimating that the last legislature was “atypical” due to the pandemic, a fact that prevented him from materializing projects of interest in Ribamontán al Mar, although he assures that he intends to complete them during the next legislature.
Asón made his debut in the 1979 elections with UCD, then ran on a list as an independent to later become one of the strong pieces of the Regionalist Party of Cantabria.
ARTURO CALVO DE INÉS, VILLASECO DE LOS REYES (CASTILE AND LEÓN)
Arturo Calvo (PP), 90, has explained to EFE that he is running for the elections again because “He wants it for the good of the people” and so that you have all the necessary services “in harmony and peace”.
“I am very satisfied in the PP”, says Calvo, who proudly remembers that he was a member of the Popular Alliance founded by Manuel Fraga and that he ate with him on several occasions during his visits to the province of Salamanca. EFE
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