The coalition announcement named “Bloco+Livre+Gaia…” had already been made on social media, but only yesterday were the names of the candidates revealed. The presentation took place at Praceta Salvador Caetano near the General Torres train station in Vila Nova de Gaia, featuring prominent figures from both parties, such as Member of the European Parliament Catarina Martins and Deputy Jorge Pinto.
“I believe it is an ambitious project, but it is achievable. It is a project with more participation because it includes Bloco, Livre, and ellipses. The ellipses signify independents and civil society. I think it is about bringing together and opening up to the Left to include everyone. It’s not just a party aggregation but about building bridges between political commitment and civil society,” stated João Martins.
The candidate, a municipal deputy since 2021 and a history teacher, emphasized that housing, or rather habitability, is a priority, indicating it is a different concept.
“Houses need to have comfort conditions for living, and many houses lack energetic comfort. We must improve this aspect, either through negotiations with the central government or with municipal programs,” he said.
Regarding mobility, a heavily debated topic in the third most populous municipality in the country and the most populous in the North, João Martins expressed that “unlike other candidates for the Council who want to dismantle the [transport network] Unir,” their candidacy believes it is necessary to give time to the metropolitan transport company while keeping a close watch.
“We are attentive to mobility and firmly believe extending the metro line to the western and eastern areas of the municipality is crucial,” he added.
João Martins also wishes to establish the role of the Citizen Ombudsman, considering it “urgent” for “residents to have someone to communicate their grievances to” and to “enhance transparency in municipal activities,” notably through the live online broadcasting of Municipal Assemblies.
“Gaia had 16 years of governance under Luís Filipe Menezes [PSD/CDS-PP] which left a legacy of 300 million euros in liabilities. This socialist majority [under Eduardo Vítor Rodrigues, who resigned on June 30] faced several setbacks over the past three terms. We will act as a transparent watchdog,” remarked the candidate.
João Martins, who holds a degree in Theology from the Baptist Theological Seminary in Queluz and in History, educational branch, from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto, and is a trainer in Citizenship and Integration, represents the Bloco de Esquerda. Meanwhile, the first candidate of this coalition for the Municipal Assembly, engineer Hélder Fontes, who holds a postgraduate degree in Political Science, is from Livre.
“Four years ago, the Bloco de Esquerda was just 500 votes short of electing a councilor. Of course, this isn’t simple arithmetic since it’s the people who vote and we must respect that, but I believe in this project’s success because there is a synergy of efforts here,” he concluded, mentioning that PAN and CDU were contacted but declined to join this initiative.
In addition to João Martins (BE/Livre), candidacies for the Vila Nova de Gaia Council include João Paulo Correia for the PS, André Araújo for the CDU, Luís Filipe Menezes for PSD/CDS-PP/IL, and Daniel Gaio for Volt.
The municipal executive consists of 11 seats, with the PS holding nine and the PSD two. The PS also leads the Municipal Assembly with a majority.
Local elections are scheduled for October 12.
