A few days before the local elections, the candidates for mayor of Sofia Vasil Terziev (PP-DB and “Save Sofia”) and Anton Hekimyan (GERB-SDS) are facing each other in a battle of ideas.
Why should I be mayor?
“To finish the started metro lines, to build new lines, to build 100 kilometers of sidewalks per year, to build 100 parking spaces in the inter-block spaces, to tidy up our city, to renew and continue to renew urban transport, to make the lives of Sofians safer and that this cleaner, safer and more orderly city is entirely related to ecology and the good life of people”, explained Hekimyan.
THE DEBATE ABOUT SOFIA: Anton Hekimyan and Vasil Terziev – for the first time in a televised debate
“Because I’m not a puppet on strings. In order for Sofia to become this city, courage, determination, competence, a serious team are needed. Something I have proven over the years that I can do. I think I’ll be able to do it now,” Terziev pointed out.
Why shouldn’t my opponent become mayor?
“Because Mr. Terziev was raised by parties – the parties of change, which disappointed everyone in recent years, which promised all kinds of things and none of it happened. A large part of the program presented by Vasil Terziev and Boris Bonev is only good wishes and is not realizable”, claims the GERB-SDS candidate.
THE SOFIA DEBATE: About the problems with infrastructure, transport and the lack of places in kindergartens
“Because there is no way a person who made a decision to become mayor in two hours, who was given the team, whether he had the program and who represents a party that has governed Sofia for 18 years and most of that time at the national level level, and she has not found the tools to realize these ideas, which are heated up from program to program, there is no way to implement them”, stressed the PP-DB and “Save Sofia” candidate.
Where in Sofia would I not take guests from abroad?
Anton Hekimyan showed a photo of a sidewalk around the Seminary church, which he said he did not like and would not take a foreigner there. Vasil Terziev showed footage from 153 Sports School in “Nadezhda”, which showed the difference between good intentions and their realization.
Sofia’s money
Hekimyan stated that he does not plan to raise taxes in his program. “I will demand that Sofia and the Municipal Council, together with the National Association of Municipalities, work so that at least 2% of the taxes of Sofia residents are returned to the city, so that this money can be invested in the neighborhoods and in the construction of good infrastructure.” , he promised.
Terziev also stated that they will not raise taxes and fees before showing the people of Sofia that they can manage their money responsibly. “The capital program is not being implemented consistently, there are hundreds of millions in uncollected liabilities, hundreds of millions are running out of funds. We will work with this resource to implement our ideas”, he explained.
Parking problems
“There is a blue zone and a green zone. Our job is to build parking spaces in neighborhoods. Where there are mud spots, they should be removed and people should be able to park their cars without spreading mud around the city and the spaces should be improved”, is the opinion of the GERB-SDS candidate.
Could it be possible to provide, for example, a personal parking space for the residents of a certain area: “It certainly can be done if one thinks about this topic. That’s why we build multi-storey car parks in the neighbourhoods. There are one million cars in Sofia. Our goal should be to get people to change their minds and not necessarily get into their cars to get downtown. The residents of the city should know that they will get there easily and quickly with public transport,” said Hekimyan.
To the question of whether there is a way for people to have a personal parking space, Terziev also answered: “We have to provide spaces. Our philosophy will be if we rethink the areas of Sofia. This is also related to limiting the number of cars that enter Sofia and park in the neighborhoods. There are solutions – it’s not just about construction. The most important thing is to eliminate cars entering the city and to find reasons for Sofians to get out of their cars and use more convenient public transport or bicycles”, explained Terziev.
The parks of Sofia
“In my program, the first park that will be built is the one in Mladost 3, next to the Church of the Nativity.” It is on an area of 17 acres. We have earmarked 140 acres for new parks, but we also need to renovate the existing ones. 7 new parks and 8 for upgrading”, requested Hekimyan.
“Our focus will be to preserve every single green space and that set aside for social infrastructure in the built-up neighborhoods. For us, a big focus is to solve the problem of parks in large areas like “Lyulin”. We have made a promise that this park next to the church will be realized, ennobled and made. Like a number of others in “Hope”, “Youth”. One of the foundations of our program is health”, promised Terziev.
Stay tuned for details!
2023-10-25 15:00:00
#Terziev #Hekimyan #Sofia #Debate #battle #ideas
