Three thousand aspiring mayors and tens of thousands of councilors in the running. Today and tomorrow voting takes place in 961 Lombardy municipalities (out of 1,502, 64%). The provincial capitals who will have to choose the new mayor are Bergamo, Cremona and Pavia.
Who goes up and who goes down
They will be there first elections for Uggiate with Ronago (Como), the new municipality born from the merger of Ronago and Uggiate Trevano. News for the voters of Agrate Brianza (Monza), Casalpusterlengo (Lodi) and Concesio (Brescia): the three Municipalities have exceeded the threshold of 15 thousand inhabitants and, therefore, they will go to the ballot if no candidate obtains an absolute majority of valid votes.
Instead, a Casalmaggiore (Cremona), “degraded” below 15 thousand inhabitants, the mayor will be elected in a single round. All twelve Lombardy provinces are involved in the administrative vote. The province with the most municipalities at the polls is Bergamo: 164. Followed by Brescia with 144 and Pavia with 122.
Statistical curiosities
Four provinces are under one hundred municipalities, Como (89), Cremona (87), Varese (77) and Milan (68), while in the remaining five provinces in municipalities voting are below the fifty quota: Lecco (49), Lodi (46), Sondrio (46), Mantua (38) and Monza Brianza (31). MIlano is the province with the highest number of municipalities over 15 thousand inhabitants (11), while in Lecco and Sondrio the mayors will be elected only in a single round. There are six Municipalities whose Council is renewed for reasons other than the natural expiration of the mandate: Bagnolo Mella (Brescia), Brebbia (Varese), Cornovecchio (Lodi), Lesmo (Monza), Peschiera Borromeo (Milan) and Sant’Angelo Lodigiano ( Lodi).The smallest municipality voting is Pedesina (Sondrio). With 35 inhabitants it is the second least populated municipality in Italy after Morterone in Lecco.
Bergamo
In Bergamo (119,476 inhabitants) the outgoing mayor, Giorgio Gori of the Democratic Party has completed his second mandate. In its place the Elena Carnevali, 59 years old, former deputy and former councilor for social policies who is also supported by the Green and Left Alliance, Bergamo Europea (Italia Viva e + Europa) and three civic lists (Bergamo Insieme, Gori per Carnevali and Elena Carnevali Mayor). The centre-right (Fratelli d’Italia, Lega, Forza Italia, Pezzotta Sindaco and Bergamo Ideale) focuses on Andrea Pezzotta, 67 years old, lawyer and former councilor for urban planning with mayor Franco Tentorio (from 2009 to 2014). Finally, a solitary run for the 5 Star Movement he supports Vittorio Apicella, 60 years old, professor of psychology.
Cremona
Similar scenario in Cremona (70,841 inhabitants). Gianluca Galimbertian expression of the centre-left, passes the baton to his deputy after ten years Andrea Virgilio, 50 years old, employee of a social cooperative. Virgilio is supported by Pd, Azione, Italia Viva, Psi, Sinistra Italiana. The center-right proposes Alessandro Portesani, 41 years old, also active in social cooperation. Even in Cremona the 5 Star Movement chose the solitary race with Paola Tacchini, 60 years old, former employee and activist. Also running Maria Vittoria Ceraso51 years old, former councilor for demographic services in the Oreste Perri council (from 2009 to 2014) and outgoing municipal councilor, supported by the civic body Oggi per Domani, Angelo Frigoli54 years old, nurse, supported by Alternativa Comunista e Ferruccio Giovetti, 63 years old, geriatrician, former municipal councilor of Forza Italia, proposed by the civic list Sicurezza e Buonsenso for Cremona.
Pavia
In Pavia (70,380 inhabitants), the outgoing mayor Fabrizio Fracassi of the League will not run for an encore. The center-right has chosen Alessandro Cantoni, 59 years old, commercial consultant, former education councilor and now regional councilor. Cantoni is supported by Forza Italia, Lega, Fratelli d’Italia, Pavia Ideale and Pavia Prima. The center-left supports him against him Michele Lissia, 42 years old, provincial secretary of the Democratic Party and professor of economics, law and institutions at the University Institute of Higher Studies of Pavia. Lissia is the expression of the “wide field” (Pd, Movimento 5 Stelle, Italia Viva, Azione e Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra) of three civic lists (Facciamo Centro, Cittadini per Pavia, Pavia a colori). They are also running for the seat of mayor Francesco Grisolia (Communist Workers’ Party), 72 years old, former CGIL trade unionist, Paolo Walter Cattaneo (Communist Refoundation), 60 years old, researcher at the National Institute of Nuclear Physics, e Francesco Signorelli (Power to the people), 55 years old, radiology technician.
