“Despite having an absolute majority, I am absolutely convinced that we will only make a difference if we manage to unite everyone around this common goal, which is the development of our land,” stated Filipe Matos Sales, 37.
The new president emphasized his intent to “listen to everyone” so that “everyone is involved and can contribute.” He particularly wants municipal workers to be part of this process and, therefore, plans for town hall meetings to be conducted “around a table.”
Running for the third time as the PSD’s head of the list for the municipal council, the newly elected social democrat attributed the victory to “the persistence and conviction that it is possible to bring the area to the level of development we all desire—through our belief, conviction, persistence, and resilience.”
“We had a profound conviction that we had a solid project, with people experienced in what the Municipal Chamber and its management entail, even though we never had the opportunity for executive responsibilities. People ultimately recognized our knowledge and preparation to, essentially, bring about the change our land needs,” he added.
Filipe de Matos Sales, “prepared and with great confidence in the team,” announced he will take office on the 31st and stated he will be “everyone’s president” from that date.
Among the first measures to be taken, the mayor highlighted urban cleaning and the utilization of community funds related to the Local Housing Strategy.
In Sunday’s municipal elections, the social democrats garnered 44.45% of the votes, securing four seats in the municipal council of Peniche, within the Leiria district, according to provisional results from the Secretary General of the Ministry of Internal Administration.
The PS came in second, with 32.09% of the votes and two seats, followed by Chega, which obtained 12.28% of the votes and one seat.
The current mayor, independent Henrique Bertino (Peniche Citizens’ Group) and his movement, chose not to run again.
