Former Deputy Governor of Piraeus George Gavrilis announced his candidacy for mayor of Piraeus late Tuesday evening.

At a special event held in the hall of the Piraeus Association, Giorgos Gavrilis, in the presence of dozens of friends and like-minded people, officially assumed the leadership of the Piraeus for All municipal faction as a candidate for the post of Mayor of Piraeus, for the self-government elections to be held next October .

Giorgos Gavrilis was Deputy Regional Governor of Piraeus (2014-2019) with the Dynami Zois combination led by Rena Dourou, and for a number of years he was a trade unionist for the Electric Railway Workers’ Union, Piraeus. Labor Center and GSEE.

“I express great joy and emotion as I look around the room and see the people I have met along this exciting journey of life in political, social and labor struggles. Friends, colleagues, compatriots who may not have had the same political path, but through our agreements and disagreements, we have won a relationship of appreciation and trust. I take responsibility and in cooperation with a large group of leaders to work and form a large democratic, progressive coalition that wants and can become an alternative proposal for the municipality of Piraeus. Self-government yearns for new and fresh ideas, a new self-government paradigm. Self-government needs an example that will not have easy identification with the decisions of the central state when they do not benefit the city, and much more, it will not have easy identification with the decisions of the government and the party when they do not serve the city. The self-management paradigm will not have dependency relationships with the interests of small and large businesses. We can form a new majority movement that can claim a historical upheaval in the municipality of Piraeus, which will not be politically neutral, but will have a political identity, not a party one. From the unanimous decision of the Central Committee of SYRIZA-PS to support my candidacy, I keep the statement of Alexis Tsipras, who said that “I have the honor today to offer support for an honest fighter for the left and for self-government, George Gavrilis, as a candidate for the mayor of Piraeus,” said the candidate for the mayor of Piraeus during his speech.

The co-founder of the Piraeus for All faction and NTUA professor Nikos Belavilas spoke at the event: “One of us, Giorgi Gavrilis, takes over the leadership of the faction, we are happy to hand it over, we are all unanimous. Comrade George, together with the gratitude of the 10,000 voters who voted for us in 2019 and the strong desire to double the number of voters in the fall of 2023,” said Piraeus Councilor pointedly.

Mayor of Keratsiniou-Drapetsonas Christos Vrettakos also gave this: “Georgos is the person who can concentrate in Piraeus all the talents that we want the city to have. Yorgos knows how to roll up his sleeves and find solutions to problems, he knows how to rally people around him, convincing them that together we can create better conditions for our areas.”

For his part, the mayor of Perama, Yiannis Lagoudakis, stressed in his speech: “I know that you are not afraid of difficulties. I know his decency, his honesty, his ability, but above all his well-documented and very persuasive political discourse. My cooperation with Giorgos Gavrilis was impeccable, he was a fair deputy governor of all the municipalities of the Piraeus region. He was the one who gathered the entire local administration of Piraeus at one table to solve the main problems of our regions. I am confident that Giorgos Gavrilis will bring about the progressive changes that the men and women of Piraeus so desperately need.”

Mayor of Nice-St. I. Rentis Giorgos Ioakemidis mentioned about the character of Giorgos Gavrilis: “No one can question the morality and ability of Giorgos. It is very important to all of us that he continues to benefit the public and of course we will be by his side.”

The former mayor of Korydallos, Stavros Kasimatis, who also attended the event, said among other things: “Georgos Gavrilis is the most reliable, most honest and most efficient politician I have met in my career. And if you combine all this with his genuine social sensitivity and solidarity, you will understand that Piraeus has the ideal candidate in front of him at this moment. George learned to fight, he learned to win. I wish with all my heart that he becomes a winner so that the problems facing Piraeus can be solved in the best possible way.”

Former regional governor of Attica Rena Duru, in her letter, described the man she worked with for five years as “a man who was not just an experienced trade unionist or a local government technocrat who knew all the issues in detail. Piraeus. He was my mainstay, almost a fatherly figure who supported me in very difficult times, with his presence and his morals. We shared many difficult moments. Difficult times in the regional council, tension, which each time gave way. It was and remains a huge heart that brought to life the concept of selfless friendship that continues to this day, despite our separation. Today George faces a new challenge, the municipality of Piraeus, but he knows that nothing is impossible in patience, hard work and morality. He owns it all and in October I won’t be writing but will be by his side to celebrate his victory.”

Source: RES-IPE