Meretz MK announces run for Tel Aviv mayor

MK Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz) formally announced on Monday his intention to run for mayor of Tel Aviv, ending weeks of speculation in the media. He will challenge incumbent Ron Huldai, who will attempt to secure his fourth term as mayor in the October 22 election.

“It is exciting and exhilarating,” Horowitz said in a Monday Facebook post, adding that his decision to run came only after “months of talks and meetings with hundreds of people.”

The race would be a “huge challenge,” he added. At a press conference announcing his candidacy, he spoke of his love for Tel Aviv and said that he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

Horowitz, who is gay, is well known to Israelis from his many years as a television correspondent and journalist. He is likely to face challenges from, among others, Hadash MK Dov Khenin, who lost to Huldai in the previous election, and social protest leader Daphni Leef.

In recent years, younger Tel Avivians have been voicing their displeasure over some of the mayor’s policies, especially his opposition to the summer of 2011’s cost-of-living street protests.

Aaron Kalman contributed to this report.