Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi has headed the city since April 25, 2006. He was recently doused with an unknown substance in the city center. He has survived the presidencies of Viktor Yushchenko, Viktor Yanukovych, and Petro Poroshenko , and remained in office during Volodymyr Zelenskyy's tenure.
His opponents included the mayor of the city from 1994 to 2002, Vasyl Kulbida; Lyubomyr Bunyak, who was mayor from 2002 to 2005; Petro Pisarchuk, a member of the Party of Regions; Ruslan Koshulynsky, a member of the Svoboda party; and former governor Oleh Sinyutka, from the EU, who was his deputy from 2007 to 2014, writes Fraza.
Here we should mention several more mayors who have governed or have governed their cities for more than 10 years and were re-elected to a third term. We have already mentioned Anatoly Ivanov, who served as mayor of Podolsk (Kotovsk) from 1998 to 2022. But we must also mention the heads of regional and district capitals. Serhiy Nadal, a member of the All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda," is the mayor of Ternopil, having become its head in 2010. Vitali Klitschko , the mayor of Kyiv, has led Kyiv since May 2014. The leader in terms of the number of city administrations is Oleksiy Reva, who served as mayor of Bakhmut (formerly Artemovsk) since 1991. In 2023, the city was completely occupied by Russian troops.
The expert community has repeatedly accused Lviv Mayor Sadovyi of being able to negotiate with the authorities on Bankova Street. Yes, this was true, particularly during Viktor Yanukovych's tenure. Back then, he managed to attend the main Party of Regions's birthday party in 2011. However, it's impossible to categorically assert that there was close cooperation between them, as Yanukovych was elected in a popular vote and came to Lviv on a working visit, specifically to inspect the infrastructure's readiness for the Euro 2012 football championship. Sadovyi couldn't ignore the central government back then. Had he entered into open conflict with the Party of Regions, he would have lost his post extremely quickly. The then Presidential Administration of Ukraine found a reason for this.
During this entire period, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi has been embroiled in a number of political scandals. For example, let's recall the 2016 garbage crisis at the Hrybovytskyi waste disposal site, where three rescue workers and an environmentalist, whose body remains missing, died. Lviv's garbage then traveled across Ukraine's regions.
Unexpectedly, but predictably, construction of a waste landfill began in Lviv, something Sadovyi had promised to implement during his first term. Unfortunately, construction of a waste processing plant in the municipality was halted this year. This was because the Polish company Control Process failed to complete the construction by the specified deadline and refused to perform part of the work. The Polish side missed the deadline. The contractor also received an advance payment of one million euros. Currently, the Lviv plant is 95 percent complete.
The last mayoral race in October 2020, where he defeated Andriy Syniutka, a native of Kuropatniki village in the Ternopil region, confirmed the hypothesis for members of the "Lviv political clique." Only a native Lviv resident can win in Lviv. Sadovyi's predecessors were not Lviv residents, but Viktor Yushchenko's slogans, which Andriy Sadovyi successfully used as a member of the political council of the Our Ukraine party, restored and consolidated this tradition. He was first elected mayor as an independent candidate, having previously served as a member of the Lviv City Council from 1998 to 2002.
This raises a logical question: why did O. Sadovyi manage to win for so long? 2006 was a year of change in Ukraine. Some time after the Orange Revolution of 2004, the economic situation of Lviv and ordinary Ukrainians improved slightly. 2006 marked the peak of the restaurant and museum industry. In 2009, Lviv was recognized as the cultural capital and attracted tourists. Sadovyi's first mayoral term coincided with the start of preparations for Euro 2012, which Ukraine co-hosted with Poland. But the 20s erased Lviv's status as a cultural capital. This was due to the coronavirus pandemic and the full-scale Russian invasion, which transformed Lviv into a military, logistics, and humanitarian hub, receiving aid from NATO allies and internally displaced persons. Finally, Sadovyi's consistent reelection as mayor reflects the electoral habits of the city's residents. They have become accustomed to him and know what to expect from him.
What advantages does A. Sadovyi have in the election? First, the presence of a massive media presence. This includes the Lux TV company, the online publication Zaxid.net, which is the main pro-mayoral media resource in Lviv, and Kanal 24, which has a national reach. Second, the support of entrepreneurs, who have spent years promoting the mayor's Samopomich party. Third, the mayor enjoys support from people of all ages in Lviv. The mayor can confidently win votes from both young people, of whom there are many in Lviv, and older voters. Fourth, his competitors, who are largely dependent on their patrons. Here, we should mention O. Syniutka and R. Koshulynskyi. Both are dependent on tobacco magnate and Party of Regions member Hryhoriy Kozlovskyi and the main sponsor of the All-Ukrainian Union "Svoboda" (Svoboda), Ihor Kryvetskyi . A. Sadovyi knows how to operate independently.
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But who could defeat O. Sadovyi in the upcoming municipal elections? A Lviv resident who is independent and capable of organizing a team. He has parliamentary experience and his own television resources. He could also propose a new development strategy for the Lviv amalgamated territorial community, which could be of interest to Lviv residents. This would be a candidate the Lviv political community has never seen before.
A. Sadovyi's main opponent will target not only the city council but also the regional council. He will need support among the political elite and a majority that will serve as his armor. The election campaign will be a real challenge for him.
In summary, it's safe to say that Sadovyi cannot remain Lviv's mayor forever. Lviv residents can always change their electoral preferences. He must be prepared for the possibility of a strong and independent competitor emerging in his electoral field. He may be aware of all the latter's strengths and weaknesses, which they will certainly exploit in the battle for control of Lviv City Hall.
Skelet.Org
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