Tension before the local elections: Who will be the new district administrator in the Soest district?

Tension before the local elections: Who will be the new district administrator in the Soest district?

Communication about the upcoming local elections in the Soest district is becoming more and more intense as the election date on September 15, 2025 gets closer. In this exciting phase, Hellweg Radio offers candidates the opportunity to introduce themselves in a 180-second interview to explain their political views and personal backgrounds. In total, the applicants receive eleven questions about politics and personality, which gives voters insights into the candidates' motives, as Hellweg Radio reports.

The district election in the Soest district promises to be an exciting head-to-head race. The incumbent district administrator Eva Irrgang from the CDU, who has been in office since 2007, will no longer run. This means that Heinrich Frieling (CDU), Bastian Weber (SPD), Jan Hülsemann (Alliance 90/The Greens) and Christof Rasche (FDP) will fight for the district office. The first votes were recently counted: Frieling received 48.19 percent, which was not enough for a first victory, so a runoff election between him and Weber will be necessary, reports WDR.

Mayoral elections and candidates

Regardless of the district election, there are also some mayoral elections that voters in the Soest district are facing. Many incumbent mayors are running unopposed, which shows that support for the incumbents is high in these communities. Alfred Schmidt in Anröchte, Malte Dahlhoff in Bad Sassendorf, Rainer Busemann in Ense and Hendrik Henneböhl in Erwitte have already confirmed their candidacies and are unchallenged.

In Lippetal, however, things will be exciting because Matthias Lürbke from the CDU is not running again. Tobias Nillies (CDU) and Jörg Backhaus (SPD) submitted their applications here. Several candidates face each other in Lippstadt, including the incumbent Arne Moritz (CDU), who has to compete against Elisabeth Körner (Alliance 90/The Greens), Torben Terwey (FDP) and others. An important topic in Lippstadt will be the construction of a museum on the market square. Things are also getting exciting in Soest: Long-time mayor Eckhard Ruthemeyer (CDU) is no longer running, leaving an open race between his successor candidates.

Mayoral elections in detail

The following candidates are fighting for the mayor's office in Soest:

• Helena Brüggemann (CDU)
• Christian Eckhoff (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen)
• Marcus Schiffer (SPD)
• André Rückbeil (FDP)
• Winfried Hagenkötter (Die Linke)

Particular attention should also be paid to the election in Warstein, where Thomas Schöne (CDU) is not running again and Maximilian Spinnrath (CDU) and Jörg Gawollek (SPD) are entering the ring.

Eligibility and process

To ensure that everything runs smoothly, voters in North Rhine-Westphalia are called upon to find out about their eligibility to vote. Anyone who is at least 16 years old and has lived in the community for at least 16 days can vote. Voter notification cards will be mailed to those eligible, and polling stations will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Election Day. In the election of the (mayor) and the district administrators, a runoff election on September 28, 2025 could be necessary if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, which the voters have already submitted this time, as Soester Anzeiger reports.

There is a lot to think about and observe surrounding the election. The people of Cologne should prepare well, request the voting documents in good time and don't forget their vote, because it counts more than ever!