Former mayor Isilda Gomes is now a European MP
Álvaro Bila has officially taken over as mayor of Portimão after temporarily replacing Isilda Gomes, who has taken up her new position as a European MP in Brussels.
Quoted in a municipal council statement, Bila says he has accepted his new responsibility with “renewed energy, commitment and a will to work in favour of the interest of Portimão and its people.” He adds that he is doing so with “a great sense of responsibility, as he succeeds a president who left an indelible legacy in recovering from a profound institutional and financial crisis, restoring stability, confidence, and credibility, for which we are grateful.”
The new mayor states he is “aware of the importance of meeting the expectations of Portimão’s residents for a more inclusive and environmentally friendly town, which is safer, has better accessibility and efficient mobility, more housing, better health and education, more leisure spaces designed for social interaction, and, above all, better public services in urban cleaning, maintenance of green spaces, and public equipment.”
“With the constraints that hindered municipal activity resolved, and with a new leadership and a renewed team, it is time to renew our commitments to Portimão and its residents, open new horizons in an open, participatory, decentralized governance model, close to the citizens, because a centuries-old city is built with everyone,” the mayor says, reaffirming “with emotion, the pride I feel in being from Portimão and my determination to serve in the construction of a better future.”
michael.bruxo@portugalresident.com
