Overview
- Wolfgang Gleba was elected vice district mayor in Gelsenkirchen-Ost on Wednesday, a day after Thomas Donner captured the same post in Gelsenkirchen-Süd.
- In Gelsenkirchen-Süd, the SPD–CDU joint list received 10 of 16 votes while AfD candidate Thomas Donner got 6, one more than the party’s seats, prompting claims of crossed ballots.
- Local reporting said the upset strained ongoing SPD–CDU talks in Gelsenkirchen, with a substantial loss of trust cited.
- On November 11 in Bochum-Nord, Heinrich “Henry” Donner (SPD) was confirmed as district mayor and Hubert Wegener (CDU) as the sole deputy after the council reduced the number of deputy posts to one.
- The Bochum-Nord decision blocked an AfD push to expand deputy roles, following the party’s recent breakthrough with a deputy post in Wattenscheid.