Davide Bendinelli Forms New Garda Council with Focus on Infrastructure and Tourism

Davide Bendinelli has chosen his team of council members: the names of his closest collaborators were announced during the first session of the new Council, on Wednesday evening. His deputy will be Dr. Gian Paolo Rossi, who received the most votes among the candidates in recent local elections. Rossi, who has previously served as an assessor, will oversee health and patrimony.

Joining him on the Council are Maria Luisa Brunelli, who was part of the opposition group in the last administration (she will handle social services), Architect Stefano Franca (public works and ecology), and Antonio Pasotti, member of the executive board of the Garda Community, responsible for a broad range of sectors: productive activities, craftsmanship and commerce, tourism, culture, hunting, and fishing.

Majority roles, electoral results, and Bendinelli’s election

Fausto Barusolo is the majority group leader (representing Progetto Garda), while Beniamino Zermini leads the opposition of Il Timone. Bendinelli, a 27-year-old provincial assessor for tourism, made his debut as mayor.

The audience was large, welcoming with applause the appointment of the assessors. The new mayor did not appear to show particular emotion. His father, Gustavo, visibly more emotional, had led the opposition during the Comencini administration.

The elections marked a significant shift for the citizens of Garda: Davide Bendinelli and Progetto Garda won beyond all expectations, securing 65% of the votes: 1,698 votes compared to Beniamino Zermini’s 922. Regarding the former mayor, Giorgio Comencini, re-elected as a councilor (returning to the minority after two terms as mayor), he was absent from the first session of the new administration.

Projects and mandates for the term

The projects envisioned by Bendinelli and his team for the upcoming five years were outlined in the strategic document. The list is extensive. Among the most significant plans are the expansion of the conference center for use as a theatre, the development of a multifunctional center with an indoor pool, tennis courts, and gymnasium in the area of the new football field, the revitalization of the port facilities, the construction of new medium-to-large parking areas to serve the historic center, and the revision of traffic management.

“For a rational arrangement that allows for less chaotic traffic,” road improvements are planned. Also, among aspirations is an “opportunity study for the construction of an alternative access route on the eastern ridge of the town,” likely to be realized through restoring an old pathway that ascends toward Costermano.

Regarding tourism, the new administration commits to aiming for a “quality offer focused on infrastructure and promotion.” It should be noted that this restructuring might go through a “review of the general variant of the master plan,” Bendinelli said, “through popular participation.”