I said from the beginning that municipal councilors are not planned to enter the selection of the chief architect of Sofia Municipality. I do not see how municipal councilors will contribute to the selection of an administrative role. The whole problem is that the Sofia Municipal Council (SOC) wants to interfere in work that is not within its powers. This was said by Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev to journalists in connection with the accusations from the GERB-SDF group that the competition for the chief architect is not transparent and their appeal for its termination.
The Sofia mayor also said that it is not true that there are no industry organizations in the commission that selects the chief architect, BTA pointed out. This can be seen in the composition, added Terziev. In his words, the fact that a person from one of the many organizations believes that it should be part of the competition jury does not change the fact that there is broad representation. It was clear from the first day who the organizations are and how it is structured, this is a very incorrect suggestion, said Terziev.
In the words of the Sofia Mayor, the problem is that the municipal councilors feel that they have lost political control over a competition for an administrative role. The chief architect is not the city's greatest strategist who can solve decades of problems - this is a person who I want to be a good administrator and who can organize the processes in one part of the planning, organization and construction process in the city, explained Vasil Terziev. He also pointed out that the municipal administration is not looking for a visionary who can give a 20-year perspective on where Sofia should develop, this is a responsibility and an obligation imposed by law on the mayor of Sofia Municipality. The mayor added that the chief architect is charged with arranging other things under the Spatial Planning Act (SPA).
A good partnership relies on a mayor, a future good deputy mayor for urban planning, who will take over some of the functions currently held by the chief architect, as well as a chief architect who will drive the issuance of building permits, Terziev believes. He pointed out that currently the municipal administration very easily makes urban planning decisions "piecemeal" and then there is a very difficult and incomprehensible process of what goes through and why.
The mayor of Sofia said that he is looking for a person who has a vision, but not for the 30-year perspective of Sofia, but for arranging administrative processes and digitalization.