Grafing: controversial honorary citizen vote – Ebersberg

The Municipal Code of the Free State of Bavaria is a great work. Less because of the sheer volume of five books and a total of 122 paragraphs. Rather, because the “GO” regulates everything to do with “the own responsibility and free self-government” of Bavaria’s cities and communities. “The communities can appoint personalities who have made a special contribution to them as honorary citizens,” says paragraph 16. However, this is rarely used. Not at all in Grafing for decades, once in 2013 (Adalbert Mischlewski) and 2015 (Hermann Huber) – and then again on October 4th.

In this non-public meeting, Mayor Christian Bauer (CSU) announced on Thursday afternoon, the decision was made to “thank and recognize Mr Grafing b. Munich to appoint”. The award will be presented on December 16th. In the city council, however, the vote was unusually controversial, as it recently leaked out bit by bit.

The decision was preceded by a fight vote – one with an announcement

City councilors report from the meeting in question from “numerous dissenting votes” to a “close issue”. The rating also seems to depend somewhat on how close someone is to Kleinmaier, who held the office of mayor between 1972 and 1996 – and had entered municipal service as early as 1947, at the age of just 15, as an administrative apprentice.

On the other hand, there is agreement on another matter: it would have been better if the expected outcome of the vote had been determined beforehand – and then changed your mind again. Such an approach is part of the basics of local politics. The sparsely worded criticism goes in the direction of Kleinmaier’s current successor, i.e. Christian Bauer. He’s the one who made the request.

Especially things of a certain news value usually get out in Grafing

That’s practically all the mayor wants to confirm on the matter – which again is understandable given that such debates are by nature held in closed session. However, the same has always been true of the Grafinger city council: Things in particular that have a certain news value do get out with a slight delay. And an unusually controversial honorary citizen vote naturally belongs in this category.

At least unfortunate on top of that, as the town hall was lazy about the announcement: more than eight weeks passed from the Kleinmaier vote in the city council to the announcement of the result. Fuel for the whispered mail, as Bauer, as a long-time City Hall employee, should actually know.

Especially since the mayor was apparently warned. Several members of the city council report that concerns about an honorary citizen of Kleinmaier and concerns about a vote from different factions have been expressed. Apparently there were several opportunities to do so. An award to Kleinmaier has often been discussed in non-public city council meetings in recent years.

Some fear a new mechanism: first mayor – then honorary citizen?

Kleinmaier’s services to his hometown are undisputed, was the credo. If only because the man spent his entire professional life in the town hall. On the other hand, that is precisely the difference to the honorary citizens Huber and Mischlewski: Hermann Huber, who died a few years ago, as the German ambassador in Prague at the time, was instrumental in negotiating the emigration of around 4,000 GDR citizens from the embassy garden there to the Federal Republic. Adalbert Mischlewski, who turned 103 a few days ago, received the award as the father of the Grafing town twinning with the French town of St. Marcellin. And for his decades of grassroots work for international understanding and ecumenism.

In addition, some city councilors are concerned about the start of a Grafingen honorary citizen mechanism: first mayor, then honorary citizen. “Where should you draw the line next time?” asks a well-known city council member. After three terms of office or after two? In any case, the statement applies: “How it all came about does neither justice to Mr. Kleinmaier nor to an honorary citizenship.”

In any case, the former mayor seems to make little fuss about the award anyway. Kleinmaier has the certificate presented to him in a small group at home on Bergstrasse. He had been offered a big reception in the festive town hall.

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