The application deadline for the office of district administrator in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district ends on Monday. There was criticism of the candidate search in advance.
The Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district office is looking for a new boss. Dorothea Störr-Ritter, elected as Baden-Württemberg’s first female district administrator 16 years ago, is stepping down. The district office will accept applications until midnight on Monday.
What does a district administrator actually do?
How is the district administrator elected?
Who has been considered an applicant for a long time?
Why did the election cause controversy in the district council?
The district administrator is chairman of the district council and head of the administration of the district office. Around 1,700 people work in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district office. The authority works with the money that is given to the district by all municipalities in the form of the district levy. In 2023 that was more than 400 million euros. The Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district includes 50 towns and communities. The area extends over the Kaiserstuhl, the northern Markgräflerland, the Dreisamtal and areas of the High Black Forest.
The district office takes over tasks from the state or the municipalities. For example, the authority takes care of the reception and distribution of refugees, the construction of roads, waste disposal, district schools and local public transport. Many people also know the district office because it issues driving licenses or because you can register your car here.
How this administration is organized, how digital it is and where it sets priorities depends on the district administrator. But he or she cannot make big decisions alone. He or she needs the approval of the district council.
Freiburg
The Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district council voted with a large majority to negotiate with the city of Freiburg about building a new district office at the technical town hall.
In Baden-Württemberg, the district administrator is elected by the district council. And – most recently in 2019 – he is elected directly by the citizens. Theoretically, any German between the ages of 30 and 68 can apply to become a district administrator for the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district up to and including October 2nd. However, a committee of the district council then decides which applicants will be admitted to the election.
This selection then ends up again in the State Ministry of the Interior. This can reject applicants in advance, but only does so if an applicant is too unqualified for the post of district administrator. This rarely happens, explained a spokesman for the district office.
On December 18th, the 67 district councilors secretly elect the new district administrator from among the applicants. Whoever gets the necessary 34 votes will be allowed to move into the head office in the district office in Freiburg in March 2024.
The previous candidates are Christian Ante, mayor of the municipality of Merzhausen (Freiburg) and Thorsten Culmsee, head of the social affairs department in the district office. Both candidates have been under discussion since the beginning of the year.
Christian Ante is currently the mayor of Merzhausen SWR
Christian Ante prevailed in a selection process between the CDU and Free Voters (FW) factions. The groups have 35 votes together. If they all choose ante, he has definitely won. Oliver Rein, chairman of the CDU parliamentary group, believes that all CDU district councilors will elect their candidate Ante. Franz Josef Winterhalter, chairman of the FW parliamentary group, is not sure about his faction.
The problems are the step into modernity: digitalization, short processes, labor shortages.
Ante has been a member of the CDU district council group since 2019 and has been mayor of Merzhausen, a small municipality near Freiburg, since 2009. Above all, he wants to change working in the district office: more home offices, more online meetings, better digitalization.
Thorsten Culmsee would like to be promoted from head of the social department to district administrator in the district office SWR
Thorsten Culmsee expects votes from all factions. He also needs that if he wants to tip the majority of CDU and Free Voters for Ante. He knows the district office well and has been head of the social department with 500 employees since 2018.
I want to hear different opinions and welcome criticism. That makes my decisions better.
In recent years he has organized the accommodation of many refugees and was involved in dealing with the Staufen abuse case. His big topic: the work culture in the district office. He wants to strengthen cooperation, encourage employees to contradict themselves and reduce hierarchies.
Should the youth welfare office have investigated evidence of abuse of the boy from Staufen earlier? A letter from the Ministry of Justice puts the responsible district office in need of explanation.
The fact that the CDU and Free Voters were already looking for their own candidate in advance caused great criticism from the SPD parliamentary group. Their parliamentary group leader Martin Löffler in particular criticized the fact that this gave the impression to the outside world that the election had already been decided and that it had scared away other good candidates.
The procedure was not productive. We want to have the best district administrator and not a party clique.
The Greens also reiterate the criticism. Leopold Winterhalder, parliamentary group leader of the Greens, thinks it’s a shame that they couldn’t find a common path with all the parliamentary groups. In his view, being the candidate of a faction would make the candidate unfree in his future role as district administrator.
The CDU, Free Voters and also the FDP see the criticism as unfounded. That is “nonsense,” said CDU parliamentary group leader Oliver Rein. A preliminary screening is completely normal and would have had no effect on the field of applicants.
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