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V. Mitalas did not win the elections in the single-member constituency of Pašilaičiai, but entered the Seimas with the list of the Freedom Party.
He should be replaced by Tomas Gulbinas, who already worked at the Vilnius City Council, but resigned in February this year. At that time, the lawyer and the diplomat were replaced by Redas Laukys, head of the Lithuanian branch of the American pharmaceutical company.
It is true that the new deputy mayor should first be approved by secret ballot by the Vilnius City Council. Since their meetings take place remotely during the quarantine, city leaders will have to turn their heads on how to conduct such a vote. During the last session, when it was already clear that V. Mitalas had become a member of the Seimas, Mayor Remigijus Šimašius was unable to answer the question about the secret ballot. The vice mayor’s vote is promised in December.
Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Dawn Armonaitė and Vytautas Mitalas
T. Gulbinas, who was elected to the council in 2019 with Mayor R. Šimašius’s list “For Vilnius, we are proud of!”, Served as chairman of the council’s Environment and Energy Committee until February 2020. The duties of a diplomat are incompatible with the duties of a council member.
Without a doubt, if the City Council approves my candidacy, the position of Deputy Mayor would mark the beginning of important changes and professional challenges, as well as a responsible commitment to the people of Vilnius. However, this confidence is motivating to join the team and have the support of the majority in the City Council without waiting for anything to get down to business. The priority now, of course, is to overcome the coronavirus pandemic and get out of this crisis with the least damage to the city, ”said the candidate for deputy mayor.
According to the mayor of Vilnius, Remigijus Šimašius, the development of the city, infrastructure, economic problems and general education are only a small part of the areas supervised by Vytautas Mitalas in his capacity as deputy mayor.
According to the mayor, the strategic directions of the city will remain the same, they will continue to operate consistently. The priorities continue to be the transformation of mobility into a more cohesive and fluid one, the transformation of sleeping areas, the station area and the improvement of the quality of education.
“In these and other important areas for the city, I look forward to continuity with no less vigor and ambition, as well as the growth and rise of Vilnius to involve all Vilnius residents in creating a city of which they are happy and proud. “said R. Šimašius. “I am convinced that Tom’s strengths: experience in public policy in the civil service, recently and in business, complex vision, diplomacy and professionalism, will help to integrate quickly into the current workflow of the municipality, guarantee the continuity of work and successfully implement the necessary changes for the residents of Vilnius. “
T.Gulbinas graduated from Vilnius University Law School, studied at Lyon University Law School (France) in 1993–1994, has more than twenty years (1993–2014) experience working in the Lithuanian Diplomatic Service, worked in Brussels in 1995–2000, 2007– 2010 – Washington. T.Gulbinas participated in the negotiations on Lithuania’s accession to the EU and was one of the team leaders of the EU Council Presidency. From 2015 to 2018, he served as Google’s spokesperson for the governments of Central and Eastern Europe. March – August 2020 was Bolt’s head of micromobility policy.
After the Seimas elections, the Vilnius Council Freedom Party faction will be abandoned by its elderly Monika Ošmianskienė, its deputy Kasparas Adomaitis and members: V. Mitalas, Evelina Dobrovolska and Tomas Raskevičius.
Arūnas Valinskas will not remain in the National Union-Lithuanian Christian Democratic faction, Elder Lukas Savickas in the Lithuanian Greens and Peasants faction, and Elder Aidas Gedvilas and Ieva Kačinskaitė-Urbonienė will not remain in the Labor Party faction.
On Thursday, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) revoked the powers of 27 councilors elected to the Seimas and recognized them as politicians in the councils.
New council members will be sworn in at the next council meeting on November 18.
Read more about it here: The CEC revoked the powers of 27 municipal council members elected to the Seimas.
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