Former Haifa mayor Yona Yahav announced on Tuesday evening that he intends to run for mayor again in the upcoming local elections to be held at the end of October.
“This is my life’s mission and being the mayor of Haifa is my life’s duty,” he declared. “I will do it with great love without wasting any unnecessary time, and right away, there is a lot to fix. Haifa will get a mayor without paying tuition.”
Yahav officially announced his candidacy at a press conference, although he did not hide his frustration at his loss to Einat Kalish Rotem in the Haifa mayoral elections, and sent many hints of his intentions to try to get back into office.
In his speech, Yahav announced that in three months there would be no more wild boars in Haifa. “Within 90 days, we’ll miss the pigs,” he promised. He half-smilingly admitted that he was the one to blame for the boar problem. “I decided on the Carmel tunnels, I allowed the blasts in the ground, it woke up the pigs, but I will know how to return them back.
“Unfortunately, in the last few years, desperation has taken over us a bit, which is contrary to the character of the city. Haifa needs to return to being the capital of the north. Hi-tech started in Haifa,” said the former mayor. He also promised that he would restore trust with the government ministries “which had completely collapsed,” that his door would be open “to any minister from any party” and that he would re-establish the municipal security patrol within four months and return Haifa to a calm and safe city.
Haifa mayoral candidate Yonah Yahav speaks during a debate between candidates to the upcoming Haifa Municipality election, in Haifa on October 23, 2018. (credit: MEIR VAKNIN/FLASH90)The 79-year-old politician also addressed his age and said that “age has no limit. A campaign based on appearance, origin or age is ugly.”
Hinting at a campaign
Earlier this month he hinted at his mayoral campaign in a Facebook post, where he wrote that he’s “prepared and ready to restore hope to our beloved city,” as he was photographed on the roof of a hotel in the German colony against the background of the famous view of the city.
In addition to Yahav, incumbent mayor Einat Kalish Rotem has announced her candidacy; other candidates include lawyer Sharit Golan Steinberg, who leads the “Council of Change” that has managed the city in recent years; retired attorney Yaakov Borovski, who is convinced that he will beat Yahav in the first round; attorney David Etzioni, who is also convinced of his victory. City council members running for mayor include Zvika Barbi, Kirill Kartnik and Lazar Kaplon.
The candidates, who until now directed their campaign against Kalish Rotem, will now also have to focus their attention on Yahav as well.
Yahav was first elected mayor of Haifa in 2003 and was the mayor for 15 years. Besides his years in the municipality, he is a former MK, a lawyer by training and a lieutenant colonel in the reserves. Yahav is married to Prof. Rivka Yahav, recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
During his three terms of office, he led many projects in the city that changed its appearance such as the Carmel Tunnels and the Sammy Ofer Stadium. The cable car project connecting the Check Post to the Technion and Haifa University began during his time. Rotem distanced herself from the cable car project the celebrations from its launch.
He managed the city during the Second Lebanon War and despite the secularism and pluralism in the city, he got along with the ultra-orthodox and the status quo they demand.
Yahav will likely deal with the question of his age during his mayoral campaign, but he has dismissed such questions and claims that his age is an advantage due to the extensive experience he has. In the meantime, it may be that the current mayor will not be re-elected and the question is whether they will re-elect Yahav – or will Haifans look for a new person for the position.
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