Hrcka to Run for Mayor of Petrzalka Again in September

Bratislava, 1 July (TASR) - Former mayor of Bratislava's borough of Petrzalka Jan Hrcka will run for the post in this year's by-election, TASR learnt at his press conference on Tuesday. Hrcka, who will run as independent, is so far the only official candidate for the head of Bratislava's largest borough. The by-election will be held on 6 September. "The direction of Petrzalka is decided by Petrzalka residents. This is one of the main reasons why I've decided to run for their trust again in the September by-election. With the people who helped me, we'll go for an early school report for our work, some of it unfinished," stated Hrcka. According to him, Petrzalka residents should decide whether to give him a second chance to continue the work he started six and half years ago. He considers it to be the best option. If they don't give him their trust, he plans to devote himself to other things that he's been postponing for a long time. If he's given a second chance, he declares that he'll try to continue the good work that has been done in the borough over the last few years. Hrcka declared that he'll try to prevent the situation with embezzlement at the local authority from happening again. He admits that it won't be easy, but stresses that he won't make the same mistake twice. "If I can't convince people, I have nothing to do there," pointed out Hrcka. Jan Hrcka, currently a Bratislava city and regional councillor, resigned as Petrzalka mayor at the end of May, thus assuming political responsibility for the fraud worth more than €2.7 million that was uncovered at the local authority. The mayor justified his decision to give up his mandate on the grounds that the fraud hadn't been discovered earlier. am/mcs