Dispute over Baunataler Nachrichten: SPD accuses mayor of breaking the law!

Dispute over Baunataler Nachrichten: SPD accuses mayor of breaking the law!

Things are simmering in the city of Baunatal: The SPD is making serious allegations against Mayor Henry Richter, who is in the tender for the successor to the mayor Baunatal news is said to have behaved unlawfully. The SPD parliamentary group leader Udo Rodenberg is convinced: “It was a tender that was carried out without prior vote in the city parliament and is therefore not legal.” This allegation is particularly heated since the contract for printing and distribution services expires at the end of June.

Things have already started to rise behind the scenes. On December 16, 2024, there was a unanimous decision in Parliament that the magistrate should develop a new future model for a communication body. But no concept was submitted to the city council by May 18th, which ultimately led to the SPD and CDU submitting an urgent application. At a meeting of the Council of Elders on March 4th, it was also stated that the city council should decide on the requirements for the newsletter.

Dispute over the tender

The situation escalated in the last session of the city parliament when the SPD and CDU tried to put the issue on the agenda through an emergency motion. But this application failed. Mayor Richter, on the other hand, defends himself against the allegations and emphasizes that the tender was “lawful and transparent”. “The decision from December did not contain any reservation for the city parliament to approve the tender,” he explains, referring to the Hessian municipal code, which regulates the magistrate’s approach.

The next meeting of the city parliament in which this dispute will be discussed will take place on June 23rd. The coming days promise a heated debate about the future of Baunataler Nachrichten.

New challenges for Mayor Richter

Henry Richter has only been in office for a short time; He was elected mayor in the runoff election on June 14, 2025. He ran as a non-party candidate and was able to prevail against his challenger Daniel Jung from the SPD with 58.46 percent of the vote. Jung, who received 41.54 percent of the vote, was disappointed with the election results and the reform course that had been initiated.

Also significant is the voter turnout, which was just 42.74 percent - a sign of how strongly local elections are often perceived by citizens. The runoff election was necessary because no candidate exceeded the 50 percent mark in the election on June 9th.

But what do these developments tell us about local elections in Germany? According to a report by the Federal Agency for Civic Education Local elections include the election of local representatives and the direct election of mayors. The tender criteria for communication bodies are also part of this municipal responsibility and should therefore not be underestimated.

The situation in Baunatal is therefore not only a dispute over the legal framework, but also a reflection of larger challenges that Mayor Richter must face as he seeks constructive cooperation with all political groups in order to effectively represent the concerns of citizens.