As the date of the mayoral and council elections approaches (31/10/23), people often ask me who to vote for. I reply that in fact, it is still too early to decide. The reason for this is that more candidates are expected to announce their entry into the race, some will retire or join forces with other candidates and, of course, we still do not know the final composition of the lists. Since this is the case, it is recommended, at this stage, to gather information, ask questions and get updated, but with the decision "who to vote for" you have to wait until close to the time of the elections.
"He helped me"
An interesting phenomenon is residents telling me about council members who helped them personally. Whether by making contact with an official in the municipality, anchoring tin, repairing lighting, layering the road and more. Naturally, these residents are grateful to the council member who helped them. Some of the residents tell me that they are considering voting for a member of the council for mayor as well, if relevant. "What do you think?" Residents ask me. "Vote for him/her for mayor?"
The short answer is "no". The longer answer is "not necessarily".
Those who work tirelessly
Before I explain my answer, I must refer, at least a little, to the members of the council. Some of you may not know, but a city councilor is a voluntary, unpaid position.
Some companies and council members in Haifa dedicate countless hours of their private time, finance trips with their own money, delve into the city's issues and work tirelessly for the residents. I personally thank them and recommend that all residents learn who the most active members of the council are. These are exactly The people we would like to represent us - valuable and caring people who work tirelessly for the public.
Attendance of city council members at meetings
All council meetings are recorded And it is recommended to enter and be impressed by the activities of the council members. There are stars there and there are, as we say... not stars.
One interesting index, although it does not necessarily accurately reflect the activity of the council members, is the percentage of attendance of each council member at meetings. The index gives an idea about the involvement of the council members, but on the other hand it should be remembered that some of the council members work and therefore have little free time.
In any case, in my opinion, attendance of 75% or more at council meetings is definitely respectable. The lower the attendance, the greater the bewilderment about the involvement of the council members and their work in the city.
• Note: Yael Shenar was on maternity leave for part of the year
Data, such as the percentage of attendance at council meetings, the number of queries submitted and the number of motions to order, are only one aspect of the council members' work indicators. A more important aspect and difficult to quantify, is the degree of deepening, understanding and control of the material under discussion, as well as to what extent the members of the council delve into the topics of the discussion and contribute to and promote it, for the well-being of the city's residents and for the city's prosperity. In this context, it is recommended to occasionally watch the council meetings or read the minutes and get an impression.
Council members are volunteers
The fact that the activities of the council members are unpaid is extremely problematic, both for the council members and for the residents. According to Opinion published by the Israel Democracy Institute The absence of a salary according to law, for council members, creates failures in contesting the elections and the day-to-day functioning.
This being so, people with little financial resources avoid running for the position and it is expected that people who do not need a salary (pensioners) will more easily (financially) compete for a position in the council. In addition, not only do the members of the council not receive a salary, but they are also required to pay financial expenses to carry out their duties properly (travel, working days, etc.).
Some of the council members are obliged to work and support themselves and the time they have left for public activity is small. It is precisely from these considerations that those council members who must make a living and still invest many hours in the Haifa public should be especially valued.
Another conclusion from the lack of salary for the council members is that the responsibility for the operation of the city, for the service to the resident and the measure of his satisfaction falls absolutely on the municipality and its salaried employees.
The municipality is the one that has to solve problems for the resident
We will return to the question of whether a resident should vote for a council member who helped him with a personal problem. Well, first of all kudos to the council member who helped the resident. Secondly, these are almost always problems that the municipality should solve for the resident in the first place without any need for the council member's intervention.
Therefore, the most important thing is for every resident to ask himself, Is the councilor who helped me most suitable to be The mayor of Haifa?
remember you The 10 commandments for the mayoral elections?
Beyond the fact that the council member helped you with a personal problem, consider that you are electing a mayor who needs to develop and grow Haifa, not personally solve problems for the residents.
When you come to elect a mayor, ask yourself: Does the council member have a vision and a plan? What is his personality? Did he create substantial collaborations? Is he a team player? able to accept criticism? Has contacts in Jerusalem?, knowledgeable and up-to-date and has organizational experience?
Feel obliged to repay the council member
In my opinion, The fact that a council member personally helped you with a problem does not in any way qualify him to be mayor and does not justify you giving him your vote. If he meets the other conditions and stands out favorably above all the other candidates, surely you should support him. The point is that when a resident receives help from a council member, he becomes emotionally attached to him and feels obligated to repay him. But you already know that you have to think with your head, not with your heart. Remember "Just not a dove"?
Errors in thinking
The psychologists Daniel Kahneman (nobel prize winner) and Amos Tversky coined the concept of "cognitive bias", which is the systematic tendency of humans to make mistakes in thinking and judgment, a kind of bugs in thinking.
Biases of this type characterize human thinking and when you know them, you can avoid them. On the other hand, there are those who know these biases and use them to confuse us and make us vote for a candidate who does not deserve our support. But that's what I'm here for, to help you be aware and make decisions about the city properly! From the head and not from the heart.
Here are some biases that are important for you to know:
1. The halo effect
Overall impression of a person according to one of his features. For example, a council member who helped us with a personal problem and we are impressed that he is a good person who as mayor will do good for Haifa. The reason for this "bug" with us is that it is easier for us to label people than to invest effort and study them in depth. We do it both for better and for worse with new people and this is exactly the essence of the "first impression".
What to do: examine the person in depth and do not draw conclusions from one or two events.
2. Media coverage bias
Increased coverage of candidates or issues related to the city in a way that influences the decision of the residents. Candidates will increase their appearances in the media and invest in campaigns in order to reach a broad public consciousness. Residents who are not in the details may decide to support the candidate to whom they have been more exposed, regardless of his suitability for the position.
What we do: we study all the candidates and ask difficult questions.
3. The availability heuristic
Assessing a situation and making a decision based on the availability of information and the ease of retrieving it.
For example: a candidate we were exposed to more, usually because he invested a lot of money in it. Such a candidate will be available in our mind and on election day if we have no information about other candidates, we will probably choose him.
What we do: we make an effort.
They are not impressed by massive advertising on billboards and buses, but insist on getting to know every candidate.
4. The confirmation bias
This is the tendency to seek, to prefer and remember information in a way that confirms what we already think.
If there is a candidate who we remember a bad action (say supporting a construction that hurts us), any new information we collect will help strengthen and confirm our initial opinion about the candidate, even if he deserves to be mayor. And vice versa, if a candidate has done something good for us and we perceive him in a positive way, we are likely to consider only positive information about the candidate and pay less attention to negative facts.
What to do: We look for and learn both positive and negative things about the candidates in order to get a balanced picture of the candidate and his suitability for mayorship.
5. authority bias
This is the tendency to attach more importance to and be influenced by a person with authority, in a field unrelated to him. For example, an architect who wants to be mayor when her authority in the field of architectural planning is not related to her ability and experience in city management.
Another example is senior military personnel, who, after completing their service, seek the public's trust in being elected to the Knesset and Prime Minister. Their authority in the military field does not necessarily indicate their ability in the political field.
What to do: Do not be impressed by an authority that is not relevant to the field of discussion. Let's say a celebrated heart surgeon decides to run for mayor, remember that there is no connection between his occupation and the position he is applying for.
6. The false consensus effect
The thought of a person or group of people because others think like them.
This effect characterizes any group of people, certainly those who support a certain candidate. The problem is evident when the person or group encounters an opposing opinion that indicates that the consensus does not really exist. Most of the time the group will assume that whoever disagrees with them is wrong.
What to do: avoid group thinking and examine each candidate and information in a balanced way as much as possible.
In conclusion
We are all busy and it is easiest to make a decision "from the gut" instead of making an effort, studying and thinking.
The problem is that after the elections are over and the administration of the city begins, we ask ourselves "How did we fall like this?"...
So that you don't ask yourself this question again, you need to study your conceptual areas and avoid them, by systematically studying the candidates, questioning what you hear, and basing your decision on facts and figures.
Something to think about
This week I received a work plan of one of the mayoral candidates.
In one word: disappointment.
In two words: a huge disappointment.
Again chew passwords and reset numerical targets. And the most entertaining? Take the job plan, replace the candidate with any other candidate and no one will notice.
So here is a rule of thumb for you to continue:
Whenever you hear a candidate speak, imagine another candidate saying the words. If you don't find any difference, it means that all you are hearing are slogans and not a series worthy of your attention.
[...] a clear interest in highlighting public support for them. I also wrote about the phenomenon of media coverage bias - increased media coverage of candidates or issues related [...]
interesting
But the graph is problematic. He is only on 2022, what about attendance in the previous years when people did not smell the election?
It is also not always effective because theoretically even if a council member was present for 5 minutes it is recorded as having participated when in practice it is not really called participation.
I think that David Etzioni definitely has a good chance of being elected mayor, against those who have currently announced a run.
Depends on 3 things:
1. You need to raise political support and a serious budget to run a campaign and down
2. Convince sectors to support it. If the ultra-orthodox with a cliché, then the Russian and Arab street, and a young secular Jew.
3. Add to the list 2-5 places that will be deputies only experts in their field (education / management / transportation / planning)
Phew.. really interesting.
You should read Machiavelli's The Prince to understand the whole story in a nutshell.
There is nothing like brainwashing to shape a herd of fools, go to the intersections and see them in crowds... Thank God they are a minority, because there was a golden calf, once upon a time, you destroyed a house due to gratuitous hatred.
Thank you very much, Hanan
An instructive post. I saved it for when I would have to choose a mayor in my place of residence, not Haifa, where I lived many years ago, when I was a student. and yet…
For anyone who says - 'Well, at least Klish shaved off our beard and gained experience in the five years of failure' - there are no signs of a learning curve, improvement throughout the term, better management, less corruption, less submission to the ultra-Orthodox who are like the tail wagging a dog, the city is dysfunctional in issues Many, the council is without a majority and is paralyzed, Klish has failed in every issue in which she claimed to fight for the city, the doors of the government offices are closed to her and the workers' committee is turning her around because she has no significant political power behind her and she does not have a majority in the council. The security situation is only deteriorating and the police are barely functioning and there is no city patrol.
In short, you have to be really masochistic to choose this hell for another five years of paralysis, fights and going backwards.
I agree with most of your points.
When you present its serial sub-section, you call it by a different name than a work plan - we will understand why you say what you say that everyone will present and present the same story - the same plan - and you call it nonsense.
Throughout my articles I have repeatedly explained the meaning of Mishna Sedora:
Numerical objectives + work plan + responsible.
Read this article:
https://haipo.co.il/item/414211
And don't put words in my mouth. I didn't write "vanity nonsense". I wrote: "again chewing passwords and zero numerical goals".
Do you notice my focus on numerical goals?
And here is a link to my proposed program for occupational development in Haifa:
https://haipo.co.il/item/409273
It is practically correct to choose a good deed and a chance here and there would mean nothing. In my opinion, every council member why doesn't he share with us about extraordinary meetings or in general about issues that are very important for us as a public to know. If you don't bring it to our attention, it's also a shame that all his actions on our behalf are not known. We will learn, we will know, we will recognize him as a favor and secondly what yeshivas were approved for. So we do need to issue a summary of the meetings every month. What I read was that Klish did not come to this or that yeshiva or left in the middle. I will no longer listen to the words of the public like Klish was elected, that residents said she would act in our favor. Why did they take this nonsense? In the past we were dragged behind whose promises? So I will choose. We all used to do that. Today is important
To think differently after what we've been through. The nightmare of choosing a nightmare cliché. He is important according to his actions and not according to his/her promises. And there are those who claim that there are candidates who are not welcoming and not nice. Serious people. I say this because one of my neighbors complained to me that one of the candidates doesn't seem nice and difficult to talk to, so he won't choose him. Nonsense, yes to choose only based on his actions. And what was his work for the residents. That it won't be nice and nothing will work!!!
It is true that a good deed here and there was nothing. In my opinion, every member of the MGA Council does not share about extraordinary meetings or in general the meetings that the public is important to reach and what conclusions they reached for the public to know. If not brought to our attention. What a shame that all his actions for us will be learned and known and we will recognize him as a favor and secondly, what are the Yeshivots of Osher and Ahashchah about. Yes, we need to issue a summary of the meetings every month. What I read was that Klish did not come to this or that yeshiva or left in the middle. I will no longer listen to the words of the public like Klish was elected, that residents said she would act in our favor. Why did they take this nonsense? And in the past we were dragged after whose promises? I will choose all of us according to his actions and not according to his/her promises. And there are some candidates who are not welcoming and not nice. Serious people. I say this because I rejected one of the two candidates and told me that one of the candidates did not seem like him because he was not nice and difficult to talk to, therefore he would not choose him. Nonsense to choose only based on his actions. And what was his work for the residents.
Stupid comments from common people
Roy Levy should manage the city no less and no more!
Proven experience in the field, which no competitor has.
As someone who cares about the city, is interested and familiar with everything that happens here, I hope that your articles will reach as many residents as possible. My biggest fear is that a candidate who does not have management and conduct skills and does not have enough knowledge of everything needed to run a city will be elected again. Everything you wrote here what super important things. We must see beyond slogans and exaggerated headlines. Each contestant must be thoroughly checked. I have one like that for two terms already and in this term in particular she proves to me that she comes to work for the city and also proves that she has abilities. I can only hope that she will be able to make a campaign that will reach as many people as possible and that they will understand that while others wanted to help like a householder and buy people into populist activities, she was busy with arduous daily work and spent hours and days to fight for the good of the city and in the process, she learned firsthand the All the areas that the municipality is required to engage in, even though it also needs to make a living. And for those who want to know who I'm talking about, follow me on Facebook. I participate there all the time in council meetings, finance committee meetings and more.
Thanks for the support Ilana.
And the article is really wrong!!!
Why choose a person not because he helped but because he cares about the resident, he will come, he will listen and he will also do things the next day that cannot be received from the city in time!!! Or who repeatedly receive letters from that Yossi whose letters all the neighbors already know:
"I'm sorry and thank you for your letter, but at this time there is no budget for the municipality" or something like: "At the moment nothing has happened to your children, so we will not put violators on your street, as our street is small and cannot be run on" - when the 2 children were almost thrown off the road to death by a criminal A neighbor rushed to our roads…..
So don't teach the residents who to choose!!!
The fact that a council member cares about the resident is wonderful, but certainly not a solid basis for electing him for mayor.
What if the council member is not qualified to serve as mayor? Choose him only because he cares about you?
I'm sure you are surrounded by people who care about you, do they all deserve to lead Haifa?
I think Zvika Barbie deserves to be mayor. He always attends the city council and makes smart comments. and always helps the residents.
This is the right man to stand at the top of the pyramid.
In my opinion, no one "deserves to be mayor". The mayorship of Haifa is not a prize and does not "deserve" those who make an effort.
The mayor deserves to be the most suitable of the candidates to head Haifa.
How do you check who is the most worthy? By reading my articles, examining information and facts and finally making an informed choice and not from the gut.
https://haipo.co.il/item/author/hanan-markovich
And without referring specifically to any candidate, multiple presence in the city council, in itself, does not constitute a substantive consideration in the selection of the candidate for mayor.
Zvika Barbie with a group of loud cheerleaders among his personal friends and family.. He was not in any managerial role. According to my understanding, Bar comes from a background in the IDF.. and knows mainly how to speak in pathos and populism, but with no relevant experience or senior management record.
Invested article. May I ask why you are not submitting a candidate for mayor? Or are you considering the issue?
Although according to what is written about you, you do not have any administrative-political experience, but with all due respect to the other candidates in Haifa, it does not seem that they can change or even be a rival to an incumbent mayor with all the criticism of her performance. It feels like a hopeless battle for them.
The series of articles you prepared only proves how important the city is to you and in my opinion you have a good chance. Of course at your discretion.
The election is right around the corner.
As of right now, as of today, I don't see anyone beating or will beat the incumbent mayor,
Among those who are supposed to face the same familiar faces, some of whom came from nowhere, I would prefer to give Kalish the ticket to a haunting priesthood, at least she has already shaved off our beard,
Haifa is probably not so attractive that a candidate of such scale and stature would jump into the water, there are many problems in the city, chief among them negative immigration and the takeover of the city's resources by international foreign parties - the Carmel,
Haifa needs national government help because among the candidates I don't see any candidate who will solve the crisis alone, still as mentioned I will prefer her to any opportunist who has already sat on the council and has done nothing
I don't know how you "don't see anyone beating or will beat the incumbent mayor". The survey presented by Dr. Itai Barry actually showed that winners also win over Klish.
https://haipo.co.il/item/405607
I completely agree that help is needed from Jerusalem and I have written about it several times.
"I will prefer her to any opportunist who has already sat on the council and has done nothing"
You are doing an injustice to some of the council members who work hard for the good of the city.
This survey is just a survey, even on the face of it the difference is not that dramatic if at all, in the moment of truth it is always easier for the head of an incumbent network to face the claimants to the crown, I will put it another way:
Of all the well-known names in the survey and well-known in general, no one has the slightest chance of beating her.
Human nature is to go with the known and the familiar,
Only in the last elections did thousands of Haifa people regret in retrospect that they chose to vote for the "unknown" candidate, her advantage this time is that she is already rubbed off, if the lady somehow manages to get along with the government officials she is better than the list in the survey, surely she is better than those who sat under her and some of them were silent like fish and now smell the The prey remember to wake up-too little too late
No one helped me, so I will not vote for him. I just hope that if I vote for him in the future he will help me.
There is a logical contradiction in your words.
If no one helped you and therefore you won't vote for them, that means you won't vote for anyone. Therefore "that I will vote for him" is not possible.
In any case, your conclusion from the article is wrong. The message is: help you received (or did not receive) from a candidate, should not be a consideration in voting for him for mayor.
Let's remember an important lesson from Tzuk's failure - it is important not only who is running for mayor but also the people after him on the list, who will be the first 1-2 deputies on his list if he is elected. Who will be the 2nd place, which is critical because it is a paid deputy who will be in charge of a local committee, the education administration, in other cities the deputy holds the transportation portfolio, or the chairman of municipal companies and should have a background and managerial experience, preferably in engineering,
accounting, transportation or education. And who the candidate for mayor will appoint as deputies in one sector or another if elected - we must understand what the future coalition that each candidate forms for himself will look like.
I was convinced by the author.
I will vote for someone who did not help me at all.
If it didn't help anyone, that's fine.
Such a person is definitely worthy, in the opinion of the respected writer, to serve as mayor
The message in the article is: help you received from a candidate should not be a consideration in voting for him for mayor.
The suitability of the candidate for the position according to the criteria I presented previously, is what is waiting to be seen before your eyes.
Who is better as mayor?
Is a person who has not helped anyone? did nothing? Just caused more and more damage? He didn't get rid of weeds, stupid senior officials and other corrupt idiots.
Or alternatively a person who helped everyone who turned to him, thus showing that he can and is capable of managing? Compare Tzvika Barbie vs. Einat Kalish Rotem.
I would expect from a serious candidate that at this stage he would already announce his intention to run - we are already months away from the elections and this is not a momentary whim.
I will also add that it is surprising to find out that Nir Shuver misses one out of three yeshivas. It's quite a bit.
Just not Kalish.!!!, fell asleep guarding the city of Haifa.
Dilapidated roads like in Gaza.
Construction eviction permits, biased towards religious people.
Urban entrepreneurship for the well-being of the resident, zero.
In short, just not Kalish.
Disappointed old resident.
Fell asleep on guard? She simply does not have the ability, the tools, the people and the appropriate connections. And burned herself in all the government offices, so that Haifa is simply completely ignored, the residents are indifferent to many issues or do not want to demonstrate and demand. And that's it, a 5 year failure.
Good luck, my friend the reporter Hanan. In my opinion, the coverage you brought is reliable.
It is indeed very important that we vote for Ms. Dr. Einat Kalish Rotem and let her continue her important work in Haifa. Have a blessed and blessed Shabbat
Here is another fake bot.
Shirley Janko - Halosh, Haifa publicist
Rafi Rafoul - Hason. Haifa journalist
Schedule fake comments like - good and important article. A very important topic. Kudos to the police. Kudos to the writer. My friend, very nice article. Then as soon as there is a trigger such as an election, a candidate - they come in to give the pike support for the failed cliche. It's already so embarrassing and pathetic.
Vomit from the disgust that 'Barr and Co.' brought to this city. Swearing, bots, self-publishing groups, hiding failures and deleting comments.
Also the attendance table at the Nia Pike Yeshiva is one big one. There are council members who come for 20 minutes and leave with a variety of excuses. You are the members of the Planning and Construction Committee - why didn't you bring them. There it is more difficult for them to fake.
And above all, Klish who comes for ten minutes to give the mayor's speech and runs away every time. The one you presented is completely false, its presence is less than 50%.
And in my opinion, some kind of law for local management at the initiative of the Ministry of the Interior should be issued that a council member who is present for less than 50% of the time of a meeting will not be considered present. And a council member who is not present at at least 50% of the meetings and committees will not be able to run for another term.
Dealing with biases is only academic. Everyone chooses the coalition method according to their sector representative. Whether he acted, helped or did not show up for the meetings. This is the unfortunate truth and the reason why the council is paralyzed, a mayor manages to get another term if he bribes enough sectors and many punishments to be indifferent and not vote at all. That is the biggest bias in the elections in Haifa, the residents who stay at home and don't vote.
For the avoidance of doubt, the first comment is not a bot and was written by a private commenter.
The private commenter is not related to and was not sent by the parties that were supposedly mentioned in your response and you do so at your own risk.