José Chulvi will opt for a fourth term in Xàbia

Friday 30th September 2022 · Mike Smith
Source: Carlos López (XAD)

The local elections of May 2023 are closer than ever. With nine months to go, the parties have begun to move their pieces, and in the case of the socialists of Xàbia, the question was whether José Chulvi would opt for a fourth term or step aside to focus on aspirations outside of Xàbia.

However, Xàbia AL DÍA has learned that Chulvi has confirmed to the party that he wants to continue his work in the town and will stand for re-election for the fourth time. With this announcement, the PSPV has begin the electoral machinery to prepare for May 2023 with the intention of renewing the absolute majority, or if it loses that – due to the wear and tear of two governing legislatures – continue to be the party with the most votes and move towards a coalition with other parties, mainly with its current partner Ciudadanos por Jávea. 

In 2011 Chulvi managed to recover the spirit (and the mayor’s office) for the Socialists, after long years in the wilderness with majorities for the PP or the old BLOC-CX that joined in coalition with the Centrists, before becoming Compromís. He enjoyed continued citizen support in 2015 with an absolute majority of 14 councilors, to which he added 2 (one from Compromís and former councilor Tere Bisquert). And he did it again in 2019.

After a legislature marked by the various world crises (global pandemic, the war in Ukraine) and the failure of major projects – with the exception of the municipal swimming pool – Chulvi is eager to face the new challenge of local elections and re-enlist the socialist voters or those who, might be of different ideological tendencies, but gave him their vote in 2015 and 2011.

To encourage the militancy, the PSPV has opened a new headquarters in the Ronda Norte, next to the bus stop, which will be inaugurated on Monday 3rd October with an open talk with the Regional Minister of Territory and Works, Rebeca Torró, the spokesperson in Les Corts in Valencia and former Regional Minister of Health, Ana Barceló as well as the mayor himself.

And the rest?

At the moment, nothing much is known with regards to the other political parties. It is taken for granted that Rosa Cardona will stand again as the mayoral candidate for the PP but for Compromís, Ciudadanos por Jávea and Podemos, nothing is known about who will be the prime candidate. And it remains to be seen what the councilor for Ciudadanos, Enrique Escrivá, does. There are many unknowns to reveal in the coming months. And, of course, we have to consider the emergence of the right-wing Vox.

To all this, in recent weeks, many residents of Xàbia have received calls from a survey asking about municipal politics and assessment of the councilors and spokespersons – the preparation for the election campaign seems to have already begun in earnest.