The announcement was made today at the Hilton Porto Gaia hotel, near the Cais de Gaia, during the presentation of Luís Filipe Menezes’s (PSD) candidacy. Menezes, former president of the municipality from 1997 to 2013, is running for mayor of Vila Nova de Gaia in the Porto district.
The civil engineer Adão da Fonseca was introduced as the president of the Honorary Committee for the candidacy, accompanied by Joaquim Poças Martins, who returns as the agent, a role he previously held during Menezes’ first run in 1997.
Paulo Rangel, entering the packed auditorium alongside Menezes, confirmed that the CDS-PP and IL will also be part of the candidacy.
“There are moments when we are called back to our origins, even when we’ve never left them. When we are called to return to the place where we have always been. This act of returning to the point where we have always been is a decision of great significance and demand, and it is an act of immense courage,” stated Paulo Rangel at the start of his speech.
He acknowledged that many might think he was referring to himself, but emphasized that it applied more to Luís Filipe Menezes, who is “returning to the territory he never left, where he has always been, and to which his heart belongs by right and work done.” He noted that Gaia has “waited 12 long years for the return, with new ideas and a new future, of Luís Filipe Menezes.”
Currently, known candidates for the mayoral race in Gaia 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 is composed of 11 seats, with the PS holding nine and the PSD two.
The local elections are scheduled for October 12.
[Updated at 21:11]
