POLITIK | POLITICS

PRESSE | PRESS [VERSION 20250727]

Elected as an independent candidate, I have been District Administrator of the Aichach-Friedberg district since May 1, 2014. With 66.9% of the vote, I clearly prevailed against three competitors in March 2020 and was re-elected for another six years. Perhaps never before has a District Administrator—in addition to the usual challenges such as hospital deficits, public transport deficits, or declining revenues—had to deal with so many global crises that directly impacted municipal work: the refugee crisis continuously since 2015, the coronavirus crisis from 2020 to 2023, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, the climate crisis; in addition, the shortage of skilled workers, exploding construction costs, etc. But local disasters have also struck the district: the 2015 tornado in Affing; the 2018 rail accident in Aichach; and 2024 Flood disaster (for the first time, a district administrator of the Aichach-Friedberg district declared a state of emergency).

For the people. For the Wittelsbach region.First of all: No one can achieve success on their own. Anyone who believes that is wrong. It always takes a team – a team as great as the one of the Aichach-Friedberg District Council. Thanks also go to Deputy Manfred Losinger, Member of the State Parliament Peter Tomaschko, the CSU parliamentary group, and everyone who has supported the district council over the past few years and wanted the best for the citizens. The following "I" is therefore a "we."

At the beginning of my first term in office in 2014, I set the political priorities in the district council by reorganizing the "Social Affairs, Education and Schools" and "Environment, Climate and Energy" committees to focus on educational development, health and medical care, elderly care and demographic processes, volunteerism, integration, and regional climate, environmental, and nature conservation. Examples of this include the district's certification as a Digital Education Region and an Eco-Model Region. The remunicipalization of the Augsburg Waste Management Agency (AVA) was also significant. (A complete overview of the first term provides detailed information.)

The projects approved by the previous district council – the replacement building for the Aichach Hospital, the new Mering High School, and the Affing-Bergen Secondary School – were fully funded and successfully completed during my first term, as was the renovation of the Friedberg High School.

My second term (2020 to 2026) saw the planned and completed replacement building for the Vinzenz-Pallotti School in record time, the renovation of the Wittelsbacher Secondary School in Aichach, the urgently needed expansion and energy-efficient renovation of the old district office after 50 years, and the planning and start of construction of the Academy of Social Pedagogy in Aichach. In cooperation with Augsburg University of Applied Sciences, Member of the State Parliament Tomaschko and I succeeded in raising the district's profile as a university location by establishing a Technology Transfer Center (TTZ) for the construction industry. I also pushed forward the expansion of the FOS/BOS in Friedberg, the Mering Gymnasium to four classes, and the renovation and expansion of the Mering Realschule. The urbanistically, ecologically, and aesthetically exemplary development plans for subsidized housing on the site of the former Vinzenz-Pallotti School in Friedberg are being implemented by the Landkreiswohnbau (District Housing Development). Similar plans are being considered for the Old Hospital in Aichach. For the further development of the Augsburg trade fair site, which is economically vital for the Swabian administrative district, Mayor Weber, District Administrator Sailer, and I succeeded, after years of tough negotiations, in securing funding from the Free State of Bavaria.

To ensure the district's future crisis-proofing in terms of civil protection and disaster management, a swap loader concept for the district's major fire departments was rolled out and financed, and concepts for blackouts, forest firefighting, relief contingents, etc. were finalized. The most important building block, however, was my initiative to establish a disaster management center with a breathing apparatus training course; both the land acquisition and building planning were completed in 2025.

Permanent priorities included a sustainable, affordable public transport and mobility concept (keyword: cooperation between AVV and MVV - a unique opportunity), the conceptual stabilization of the highly deficit-ridden clinics on the Paar River under the district's management (especially in light of the Lauterbach Hospital Reform 2024 passed by the federal government, which was a complete failure for rural areas), the establishment and expansion (2025) of the Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic (thanks to District Council President Sailer), and the sustainable development of the district (Agenda 2030).

As a measure to strengthen democratic awareness among young people, I established the Youth District Council – the only one in the Swabia administrative district to date – a regular body that enables young people to influence local political decisions at an early stage. This was instrumental in bringing the federal funding program "Live Democracy!" to the district.

In 2023, I initiated the "LRA 2025+" project to optimize the organization of the district office at all levels. With the move to the extension building, processes and procedures were also reviewed, particularly with a view to citizen services.
A particular success was bringing the Bavarian State Exhibition (City Liberated. Wittelsbach Founding Cities) to the district in 2020, together with the cities of Aichach and Friedberg.

In my role as District Administrator, I performed approximately 30 voluntary and activity-related tasks, including serving on the Board of Directors and Personnel Committee of the Augsburg Waste Recycling Company (AVA), the Supervisory Board and shareholder of the Augsburg Transport and Tariff Association (AVV), and the Supervisory Board and shareholder of the Augsburg Schwabenhallen Messe- und Veranstaltungs GmbH (ASMV). As chairman, I led, among other things, the Augsburg Recreation Area Association (EVA) and the Wittelsbacher Land e.V. and was a member of the Committee for Constitutional, Legal and Cultural Affairs of the Bavarian District Council (BLKT) and the Bavarian Hospital Association (BKG).