Overview
- The city council voted 57–13 to remove Reinknecht, easily surpassing the required supermajority in the 68-member body.
- The motion to oust her was jointly submitted by CDU, SPD, Greens, USD, the Left and FDP after her surprise election on November 5.
- Local media reported she had shared allegedly racist Facebook content; she later deleted the posts and said shares were often spontaneous and not endorsements.
- It remains unclear which councillors provided the three votes beyond the AfD’s 13 seats that enabled her original victory in the secret ballot.
- The non-AfD factions also aim to reduce the number of deputy mayor posts to two in future as part of tightening council procedures.