Avihu Han will be the deputy mayor and will take the place of Yahav • Preparing for the second round

(haipo) - On Sunday 10/3/24, the second and decisive round of the Haifa mayoral elections will take place. In the first round held on Tuesday 27/2/24, Avihu Han ran for the mayorship, when the faction led by him - "The Greens Blue and White" ran for the city council. Han won 9.5% of the Haifa votes. The two who garnered the most votes are Yona Yahav, who finished with 36% of the votes and David Etzioni, who received 20.9% of the votes in the first round, and they will face each other in the second round, which will take place on Sunday, 10/03/24.

Hahn was the first to express support for Yona Yahav, two days after the elections, and received from him a long series of positions, which add to the willingness to act jointly in a coalition framework based on the values ​​shared by both factions. Now all that remains is to win in the second round in order to implement all the ideas for Haifa's march forward.

The Greens and Yahav - not for the first time

ביום חמישי 29/02/24, יומיים לאחר הבחירות, כינסו האן ויהב מסיבת עיתונאים בה הכריז האן על תמיכתו ביונה יהב בסיבוב הבחירות השני. בנאומו אומר יהב כי זו לא הפעם הראשונה שיש שותפות בינו לבין הירוקים. "נבחרתי פעם ראשונה ב-2003 עם הירוקים. זה היה תקדים חסר תקדים בארץ בכלל ואני חייב לומר ולהזכיר את השרה לאיכות הסביבה יהודית נאות ז"ל, שדחפה אותי לעניין, היא חברת ילדות, היא דחפה אותי לסיפור, וככה זה נולד". יהב מתכוון בדבריו לכך שבניצחון הראשון שלו כראש עיר הוא התמודד מטעם רשימת שינוי, הירוקים ואיחוד השכונות. בבחירות הבאות הירוקים כבר התמודדו באופן עצמאי.

Yahav emphasized in his speech again and again that he and Hahn are moving towards a liberal coalition, and noted that he is already in negotiations with other factions of a similar nature. Yahav said of Han that he is his friend and now also his partner and emphasized his great appreciation for Han, his diligence and his willingness to work hard for the residents, and on a voluntary basis.

The roles of the Blue and White Green faction

In the agreement signed between Yahav and Han, it was determined that any faction that joins the coalition agreement before the repeat elections, will be able to appoint a paid deputy mayor for the entire term, in the event that it has 4 or more council members, and a faction of at least 2 members, will be able to appoint a paid deputy mayor for half the term.

According to the agreement, Hahn will be the mayor's first deputy and deputy (and will preside over the council meetings in the mayor's absence). He will be the holder of the environmental and neighborhood portfolio and the chairman of the Association of Cities for the Environment. In addition, representatives of his faction will serve as chairman of the conservation committee and chairman of the Shekmona company.

At the press conference, Hahn said: "The public gave me significant electoral power, because they wanted me alongside Yona Yahav in the leadership of the city. I stand here out of responsibility for the future of Haifa and on its behalf I go under the stretcher, because Haifa always comes before everything. Haifa comes before ego, before interests and before the personal .
I support Yona Yahav for mayor of Haifa, and I went under the stretcher not without knowing that I would be a full and senior partner. Yona and I share common values ​​of liberalism and pluralism, of progress, technology and service to the resident. I call on other factions to join us."

Hahn is a pensioner of the Electric Company and for the last decade, as mentioned, he has served as a member of the Haifa City Council, and it should be noted that he is one of the most prominent of them. In recent years, Hahn has served as the chairman of the Haifa Green faction, which in the last elections won the support of Minister Benny Gantz, since then the faction is called the "Blue and White Greens".

Over the years, Han served in other positions in the city council, in which he was a member of the local committee for planning and construction, and as part of his position he helped thousands of residents in Haifa, often when no one responded to their inquiries. Hahn also served as a member of the board of directors of the economic company and chairman of the tenders committee of the Haifa Tourism Corporation. Among the prominent issues he dealt with was the promotion of government resolution 1231 for the evacuation of the petrochemical industry from the Haifa Bay during the Lapid-Bent-Ganz government, transportation and approval of the Kishon Park plan in the amount of approximately 900 a dunam and in the lead of the fight to remove the ammonia from all of Kiryat Haim.

One of the topics that Hahn has worked on a lot over the years, even during his run for mayor, is the fight against "piggy" urban renewal. Many residents turned to him, and still turn to him, in order to help them fight disproportionate construction and one that grossly deviates from the landscape in their area of ​​residence, sometimes with the intention of destroying buildings intended for preservation, and Han always grants their requests and helps as much as he can.

Han is known as a council member who bothers and shows up to all council meetings, is involved in every matter and makes his voice heard whenever the occasion calls for it. Although he is seen as someone who is always opposed to construction and development, in fact this is not true, except that it is important to him to preserve buildings that are valuable for preservation and to preserve the quality of life of the residents. Hahn has often stated that he is not opposed to construction at all, as long as it is carried out taking into account the infrastructure and the general character of the area.

This was the second time Han ran for mayor. As for another time in 5 years, it's too early to talk. In the meantime, there is no doubt that he will continue his vigorous work for the residents as part of his duties in the council.

Han is 67 years old, born in Haifa, resident of West Carmel, married to Rachel, father of 3 children and grandfather of 4.