SPD Bad Kreuznach elects new dual leadership with Haag and Simon!

SPD Bad Kreuznach elects new dual leadership with Haag and Simon!

The Bad Kreuznach SPD community association held an important general meeting on June 20, 2025, which was dedicated to renewal and modernization. Both the VG mayoral election and the new board became the main issues. A gender-equal dual leadership was elected with Marie Haag, a 25-year-old student teacher, and Michael Simon, who already leads the SPD local council group. These new elections not only bring a breath of fresh air, but also bring different perspectives into the party.

The new management will be supported by deputy chairmen Jennifer Henn and Achim Rhein, while the proven staff Helmut Sommer as treasurer and Karl Heil as secretary will remain on the board. The new board also includes an attractive potpourri of assessors. These include Frank Heilemann, Christian Schneider, Johann Klein, Bianca Lippold, Nicola Petry-Zeh, Oliver Nipkau and Christian Schworm, all of whom want to do their part to strengthen the party.

Invitation to be closer to citizens

With the new constellation comes a clear message: The SPD Bad Kreuznach wants to expand contact with citizens and strengthen communication with the population. The aim is to be close to the people and to actively involve them in political events. The dual leadership emphasized the need to be welcoming and open in order to take citizens' concerns seriously. The substantive issues of social democracy should also be clearly in the foreground.

A new, revised statute was also adopted at the meeting, which gives the party a modern and future-oriented framework. The thematic focus is on climate protection management, the participation of children and young people as well as inter-municipal cooperation and school development. Karl Heil also pointed out the possibility of an environmental protection award in order to integrate the topic of tourism as an important component for promoting the region.

The role of the party in the community

But what about the role of parties in local politics as a whole? It's worth taking a look across party lines. According to analyzes by the Federal Agency for Civic Education, it is clear that the importance of parties in small communities is increasingly being viewed critically. While some political scientists advocate party politicization, lawyers speak of the need to limit the influence of parties on local self-government. The dynamic is particularly pronounced in North Rhine-Westphalia, where local parliaments have a strong position vis-à-vis the mayors. Parties are often no longer the sole mediators between citizens and politics.

The challenges are clear: In smaller communities, recruitment problems are great, and many candidates have little deep party loyalty, which calls into question the traditionality of the parties. This means that voting communities are becoming increasingly important, as can be seen particularly in the East German federal states.

Despite these challenges, the SPD community association in Bad Kreuznach shows with its new leadership that it is prepared to take innovative paths and take proximity to the citizens in municipal action seriously. The SPD Bad Kreuznach can look forward to exciting and challenging months. The commitment of Marie Haag and Michael Simon promises to make the party modern and close to the people.

For further information and the latest developments around the SPD Bad Kreuznach, visit nahe-news.de, spd-kreis-badkreuznach.de and bpb.de.