“We will not start from scratch, we will not initiate a project; we will improve and perfect what has already been done in the city. We have a very positive assessment of what has been the cultural policy in the city. Culture, in recent years, has been a responsibility of the city mayor. Therefore, in line with this good practice, the next city mayor – myself – will take on the cultural portfolio,” revealed Pedro Duarte, who submitted the lists for the coalition “O Porto Somos Nós” to Porto’s municipal bodies today in court.
The former Minister of Parliamentary Affairs refrained from further elaborating on the distribution of portfolios among his candidates, considering it “premature” and still uncertain about “how many councilors” from the coalition will be elected on October 12.
For the executive, besides Pedro Duarte as the list leader, “O Porto Somos Nós” presents current councilor Catarina Araújo (CDS) as number two, followed by lawyer Gabriela Queiroz (PSD). Other candidates include engineer and current Municipal Assembly member Rodrigo Passos (PSD), Porto’s Liberal Initiative leader Hugo Beirão Rodrigues, teacher Matilde Gouveia Rocha (IL), economist António Manuel Cunha (PSD), sustainability and technology consultant Luís Bernardes Rebelo (PSD), economist Constança Ferreira dos Santos (PSD), executive director of the municipal company Ágora, César Navio (CDS), economist Tiago Oliveira Martins (IL), nurse Bárbara Marques Simões Jorge (PSD), and operations director Pedro Pereira da Silva (PSD).
The coalition’s candidate for the presidency of the Municipal Assembly is orthopedic surgeon Marta Massada, spokeswoman for the group of independents in Porto supporting this candidacy.
“We are very proud of our women from Porto, who are indeed special in every aspect. We believe in a society that values, respects, and protects women. We do not and will not accept living in a city where women are less than men,” declared Pedro Duarte to journalists, expressing a desire to act “implacably” against gender violence.
Marta Massada shared her commitment to serve the city where she was born “in the best way” and expressed “belief and conviction” in the values of the coalition she represents.
When asked if she is the only independent in the lists submitted today at the Palace of Justice, the spokeswoman for the Independents of Porto said she did not know.
Alberto Machado (PSD), Paulo Alcarva (IL), Isabel Menéres Campos (CDS), and former councilor of Porto’s City Council Gonçalo Mayan Gonçalves (PSD) are among the names revealed for the Municipal Assembly.
Lists for parish councils were also submitted.
Regarding potential post-electoral agreements, Pedro Duarte disclosed a willingness to “always talk with all parties,” regardless of “divergences or convergences,” but emphasized that some principles remain “non-negotiable.”
Candidates for Porto’s City Council include Manuel Pizarro (PS), Diana Ferreira (CDU – coalition PCP/PEV), Nuno Cardoso (Porto Primeiro – coalition NC/PPM), Aníbal Pinto (Nova Direita), Pedro Duarte (PSD/IL/CDS-PP), Sérgio Aires (BE), current vice-president Filipe Araújo (independent movement), António Araújo (independent movement), Alexandre Guilherme Jorge (Volt), Hélder Sousa (Livre), and Miguel Corte-Real (Chega).
The current executive comprises a majority of six elected from Rui Moreira’s movement and one independent councilor, with the remaining positions filled by two from the PS, two from the PSD, one from the CDU, and one from the BE.
The municipal elections are scheduled for October 12.
[Updated at 1:51 PM]
