Politicians running for the Ventspils City Council consider regaining municipal influence in the Ventspils port as one of the most important issues, although this is not a decision where the municipality has the final say, according to a poll of politicians conducted by LETA before the elections. Since 2019, when the US sanctioned councilor Aivars Lembergs (For Latvia and Ventspils) and four legal entities related to him, including the Ventspils Freeport Authority, on suspicion of corruption, the municipality has lost its influence in the port.

In terms of the city's economic growth, the candidates also see opportunities in attracting information technology and manufacturing companies. They also promise to boost tourism. For housing development, support is promised for both the renovation of the existing housing and the construction of new housing. There are diferent views on the city's school network: while some see a need to merge schools, others believe that school closures should not be allowed.

Eight tickets have been registered for the municipal elections in Ventspils this year. There are 93 candidates running for 13 seats, or seven candidates per seat.

What changes are needed in the municipal school network over the next four years?

For Latvia and Ventspils, Janis Vitolins: The municipality has implemented optimization measures in line with the criteria set by the Education and Science Ministry. Last year, two primary schools and three pre-school educational institutions were merged. Unfortunately, the state has not provided funding in line with the Program at School funding model. Further plans to optimize educational institutions depend on the national policy in this area.

United list (Latvia’s Green Party, Latvia’s Association of Regions, Liepaja’s Party, New Conservative Party), Aivis Landmanis: Ventspils needs to create synergies between general and special interest education. For example, in one of the secondary schools, learning time should be organized in such a way that children can do interest education in the first half of the day and partly remotely, for example, during competitions, concerts, camps. Such an approach would ensure a higher quality of both general and special interest education and a better and more balanced use of infrastructure.

National Alliance, Vita Hermansone: In order to ensure good quality and sustainable education environment in Ventspils over the next four years, a number of significant changes are needed in the municipality's school network. Given the demographic trends, it is necessary to merge or reorganize schools to ensure efficient use of resources and good quality education.

For! and New Unity, Bruno Jursevics: Everything must be done in the network of primary and secondary schools in the municipality so that no other Ventspils school is closed. Despite the decline in population, and therefore in the number of pupils, the municipal administration, together with the Spars sports school, should organize boarding schools for the traditional sports of basketball, football and hockey in Ventspils. Ventspils has all the infrastructure to organize such training.

Stability: Updating teaching materials, adapting curricula to modern requirements, improving leisure facilities for children and young people at school, investing in school building equipment, improving energy efficiency, renewing school playground infrastructure are among things to be done.

What solutions do you plan for the development of housing stock in the municipality - renovation of existing housing, construction of new housing?

For Latvia and Ventspils: Ventspils has almost 400 apartment houses, 44 percent of which are managed by the municipal company Ventspils Nekustamie Ipasumi. The improvement of the housing stock is being carried out in both directions - renovation of existing housing and construction of new housing.

There is currently a shortage of long-term rental apartments in the city. To address this problem, the municipality has two kinds of support programs open to developers of rental housing, with grants covering part of the construction costs.

Ventspils Nekustamie Ipasumi has started construction of two new apartment buildings with 60 modern apartments under the Altum program to support the construction of low-rent housing. To renovate the existing housing, Ventspils Nekustamie Ipasumi, as the building manager, is carrying out both renovation of the houses under the Altum Multi-apartment Houses Energy Efficiency Program, as well as roof replacements and other large-scale renovation works with the help of loans.

United List: Too much municipal intervention risks significantly disrupting the existing housing market, which is not desirable as the municipality is already significantly interfering in the business environment.

National Alliance: For the renovation of the existing houses, we are planning support measures for citizens who want to renovate their apartment blocks, such as credit subsidies, grant funding and co-financing programs. We plan to set up mechanisms to start work more quickly and efficiently.

We see two paths in the development of the housing stock, namely municipal co-funding for the construction of apartment buildings together with funding from European funds and private entrepreneurs, as well as real estate tax rebates of up to 90 percent for 30 years for entrepreneurs who both renovate and develop new housing stock themselves for the residents of Ventspils.

Stability: Housing stock in Ventspils is one of the most pressing issues, so let us start by reviewing the technical condition of the existing housing stock in Ventspils by carrying out regular technical inspections. We definitely need to review the municipally-owned buildings in the Old Town that are currently empty. They need to be renovated and modernized to meet the needs of the housing stock. Similarly, the municipality should review the plots of land to be used for the construction of new buildings in accordance with the spatial plan.

In which sectors it is planned to attract investors, what will the municipality's support programs for entrepreneurs be?

For Latvia and Ventspils: Ventspils is primarily working on attracting companies from the manufacturing industry and information and communication technologies, focusing on the provision of adequate infrastructure, including the construction of production buildings. The port has the opportunity to develop from a fossil energy port to a renewable energy port by attracting investors in energy conversion, storage and transport, participating in the future energy economy (hydrogen, methanol, ammonia) and engaging in the European Green Deal.

Currently, the municipality provides rental support for business premises and co-finances the construction of new industrial buildings in industrial zones. The Ventspils Digital Centre and the High Technology Park offer free services with 100 percent support for companies from the European Digital Innovation Hubs program. The Ventspils Business Support Centre provides advice on starting up a business, helps to raise finance, and helps to establish contacts with potential investors or business partners. Tax incentives are available for companies registered in the Ventspils Special Economic Zone. Assistance is provided in providing housing for employees.

United List: Things that work do not have to change. Only the Ventspils Freeport Authority needs to be reformed. We see it as our task to eliminate prejudices in the attitude towards the city and freeport entrepreneurs, as well as to balance the interests of entrepreneurs and citizens, the municipality and the Freeport Authority. To promote small and medium-sized business, we will ensure fair competition and respect the views of entrepreneurs.

National Alliance: All business sectors are important in Ventspils, and the municipality plans to develop close cooperation with entrepreneurs in various areas. In cooperation with the Ventspils Freeport Authority, we will continue to work with companies operating in the freeport area, with particular support for the transformation of the port and involvement in the development of the green energy cluster. Given that Ventspils University College trains electronics and information technology specialists, we will work with the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia to attract investors to establish data centers in the city.

As a municipality, we will provide specific support measures, such as real estate tax rebates and the construction of the necessary infrastructure up to the red line of the street. We will also continue to develop the tourism sector - the Ventspils Tourism Information Centre will participate in international conferences and exhibitions, and we will work with industry to create a unified tourism offer for the city and Ventspils region, strengthening the region's competitiveness and attractiveness.

For! and New Unity: In order to attract foreign and Latvian investors, the first task is to get rid of the "shadows over Ventspils", namely the influence of Aivars Lembergs, the leader of For Latvia and Ventspils party, who has been convicted in two Latvian courts and is the subject of sanctions from two countries - the US and the UK. We will only be able to do this together with the democratic political forces by winning these local elections.

Support to small and medium-sized enterprises - especially in the field of tourism development, by organizing participation competitions, providing them with municipal co-financing, implementing both beaches and active leisure opportunities for citizens and young people, and also in the field of catering and services.

Stability: If for a long time the city's economy was dominated by a single sector linked to the port - transport and storage - then today the economy of Ventspils can rightly be seen as a multi-sectoral economy and this is where it should be heading. Attracting investors and investment in the industrial sector should increase the number of manufacturing enterprises, thereby increasing the employment share. The service sector in the city needs to be developed substantially, especially in tourism. Let us create a start-up fund - small grants or interest-free loans to open new businesses.

What are the priorities for strengthening security in the municipality?

For Latvia and Ventspils: Providing shelters for the population, purchasing equipment and equipment for civil protection. Increasing the salaries of municipal police officers so that we can retain existing staff and attract new recruits. The municipality believes that the number of State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD) crews in Ventspils is currently insufficient and that there is a need to modernize equipment. Northern Kurzeme is the only region in Latvia where there are no plans to establish a disaster management center, as is being done elsewhere in Latvia. Given the potential hazards of port operations, such a disaster management center should also be located in Ventspils.

United List: In a city with a high risk and critical national infrastructure, a civil protection and evacuation plan appropriate to the geopolitical risks, relevant training and simulations to inform the population are needed. Physical presence of municipal police in general education establishments, patrols in places where children and adolescents gather. Uniform and safe collective transport arrangements for children and young people in the municipality.

National Alliance: One of the most important tasks is to systematically strengthen the civil protection system, with a particular focus on citizen involvement and emergency preparedness. We plan to set up civil protection formations in cooperation with the Interior Ministry. At the same time, we will provide information to the population on how to act in crisis situations. We will cooperate with the State Fire and Rescue Service, the State Police, the Emergency Medical Service, the State Border Guard and the National Guard to form a single response mechanism.

At the same time, we need to start work on renovating and adapting existing shelters to modern security requirements, including ensuring their accessibility to different groups of society. This work should be carried out with the support of both the national and municipal budgets. Plans should also be drawn up for the construction of new shelters or the adaptation of existing buildings to this function, taking particular account of educational establishments, public buildings and apartment blocks. Shelters should be mapped and included in a single digital system so that people can quickly and safely navigate in times of crisis.

For! and New Unity: First, providing every citizen of Ventspils with information on what to do in the event of a military or natural disaster. Second, temporary shelters should be urgently set up using public funds, as some Ventspils residents will have to stay in the city and work in extreme conditions in the event of a threat, and will not be able to evacuate to a safer area of the country.

Stability: Schools need to talk to teachers, parents and children about what to do in appropriate situations, what logarithms will be used if there is a crisis, so that every mother can be sure that her child is safe while at school in a crisis situation. The elderly need to be informed about medications so that they know what to do in a crisis situation. Awareness-raising among the population is a priority.

What changes in the governance model of Ventspils port would the municipality accept?

For Latvia and Ventspils: A single governance model should be introduced in all three major Latvian ports, based on the example of the Liepaja Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Authority, which provides for equal participation of representatives of the state, local governments and businesses in port management.

Moreover, if the Liepaja SEZ model is recognized as the best possible, it is not clear why this model, which has proven itself in practice, could not also be implemented in the management of the ports of Riga and Ventspils.

United List: the management of the Ventspils Freeport Authority should ensure the representation of businesses operating in the Ventspils Freeport. Meaningful restructuring of port operations as a precondition for economic diversification.

In order to attract new cargo - Central Asia, Ukraine, possibly via Belarus. At national and European level, we need to start discussing on what terms future cooperation with aggressor countries will take place once the war is over. We believe that European trade with these countries should be conducted by excluding the ports of the aggressor countries - this will eliminate the risks of shadow fleets, control the flow of cargo, collect reparations for the reconstruction of Ukraine and return economic activity to the ports.

National Alliance: In the view of the National Alliance, Ventspils municipality should definitely return to the Ventspils Freeport management to ensure a balanced, representative and sustainable development of the port. At the same time, we believe that the Cabinet of Ministers' regulations should include mechanisms to prevent any risk of sanctions, protecting the port authority from external influence or international restrictions.

We support the "2+2" governance model, with two representatives delegated from the municipality and one each from the Transport and Economics Ministries. To ensure professional and politically neutral representation, the candidates nominated by the municipality should have no political representation in the municipal council, high professional competence, experience in port, logistics, business or management. This approach will strengthen the transparency of port governance, respect local interests and promote strategic development in cooperation with public authorities.

For! and New Unity: Ventspils Freeport Authority should be a public corporation. Representatives of the Ventspils municipality should be on the board of the port. We support two representatives from the Transport and Economics Ministries and two representatives from Ventspils City Council on the port council, one of the municipal representatives must be the chairman of the City Council.

As we know, the port reform in the Ventspils port was adopted primarily to remove a selfishly corrupt municipal official from influence in the port, which, unfortunately, no Latvian government has been able to achieve before.

Stability: Our vision for the Ventspils port: "Development with the city." We want to advocate a governance model for the Ventspils port where the municipality has representation and a real say in decisions on the port's development, with a share of the port's income going to the city's infrastructure, environment and education, because the port is not only of national but also local importance. Transparent and balanced governance, where there is cooperation between the state, the municipality, business and society to promote the cornerstone of development. We certainly do not want to allow Ventspils to be left out of decisions that affect its citizens, environment and economy. The Ventspils port is the driving force of the city - it must be closely linked to the city’s development goals.