In the middle of this election campaign, Mike Josef (SPD) will celebrate his fortieth birthday.

On January 25th the time has come.

However, he will not be spending the evening with friends or family, but will be discussing things with business representatives at an event organized by his circle of supporters.

This election campaign is "short and intense," he says.

One panel discussion follows the next.

Rainer Schulz

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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Forty, that's actually a good age to do something new again.

Josef wants to become mayor of Frankfurt.

"But that's not the next step in my career," says the SPD politician, probably thinking of the Green Party candidate.

He wants to stay in Frankfurt with his family because this is where his roots are.

And professionally, he would give up if it didn't work out: As head of planning and sports, he is responsible for two departments in the city council.

It is therefore not surprising that Josef has an overview of the tasks and needs of urban development and also knows the details.

Whether it's about the new construction of the municipal theater, which he "finally wants to tackle", or the renovation of the schools, which needs to be accelerated, he has an opinion on almost every local political issue and also an idea on how to finance the project.

In the election campaign, he sets five priorities: improving educational opportunities, stable infrastructure, affordable housing, social cohesion and a strong economy.

subway to the university

For him, this is the be-all and end-all. "A strong economy for social security" is written on his election posters, some of which do without a party logo.

The slogan is its core message.

Because in order to be able to finance social welfare, the city treasury must be well filled.

A strong economy is a prerequisite for this, he says.

Josef therefore wants to make the realization of the "Industry Master Plan", with which the city wants to secure and further develop its commercial locations, a "top priority".

However, that does not mean that he also wants to become head of the economic department.

Together with Stefanie Wüst (FDP), head of the economic department, he wants to “advance the matter” and “back it up”.

In order to remain competitive, Frankfurt must also expand its infrastructure.

For Josef, this includes closing the gap on the U4, with a stop at the university campus, but also the multifunctional hall at the stadium.

In the development of the planned district in the northwest east of the A5, he wants to remain steadfast: "As mayor, you stand where the wind blows in your face."

speed up school construction

For him, the focus is on "normal earning people who get up every morning and go to work".

He wants to give them the security that they can still afford the city.

People shouldn't be afraid of repression either.

That's why he wants to spend 120 million euros on creating affordable housing.

He wants to increase the municipal modernization program for homeowners from one to ten million euros a year.

Subsidies for energy-related refurbishments should be linked to the condition that the rent including heating remains the same after the refurbishment.

In addition, Josef wants to set up an energy security fund to support indebted clubs, cultural institutions and private households that can no longer afford the additional costs.

Many of these projects have already been included in the budget.

When it comes to educational institutions, Josef wants to increase the pace of school renovations and new buildings by outsourcing smaller projects to a company close to the city.

Because with the current structure, the city loses too much time with tenders and awards.

He also wants to increase the budget for the construction of day care centers and schools by one billion euros within six years.

And finally, he wants to work to ensure that the last year of the crèche is free of charge for parents, as agreed in the coalition agreement.

Ideas from Munich

Josef copied many of these ideas in Munich.

This includes a salary supplement for certain professional groups.

He wants to introduce a “Frankfurt surcharge” so that skilled workers can afford to live in the city: educators, bus drivers, city police officers and others should benefit from this.

"The competition for skilled workers is the competition for good wages," he says.

In order to improve cleanliness in public space, he wants to hire more staff for the Clean Frankfurt staff unit.

If someone reports illegal dumping of rubbish, it should be picked up within 48 hours.

Something should also change in the station district: "I will not tolerate the conditions as mayor," he says.

He stands by a gun ban zone and more police, but also by protected contact points for drug addicts.

The public space is “not a hospital”.

Video surveillance at neuralgic points can help to solve crimes.

During the election campaign, Josef wants to tour the settlements and attend as many panel discussions as possible.

Party celebrities from Berlin support him: Lars Klingbeil comes to the political Ash Wednesday, Kevin Kühnert to a pub crawl.

Some dates are on his website.