Districts | Left surprises with personnel castling in Treptow-Köpenick

The Left occupies 15 seats in the newly elected district council. Photo: Archive Around a month and a half after the elections, Die Linke Treptow-Köpenick announced who they were nominating as district mayor: Guido Filips, the head of the social welfare office in the neighboring district of Marzahn-Hellersdorf. This is a surprise, because the top candidate in the election campaign was someone else, the previous City Councilor for Health, Carolin Weingart. Filips, on the other hand, was not even on the ballot paper. The personnel decision caused some surprise not only on social networks, but also among other parties.

“None of us know him,” says Alexander Freier-Winterkauf for the SPD, “and of course we want to get to know him first before we position ourselves. That’s scheduled for the end of next week.”  

»I would like to take responsibility for the most beautiful district in Berlin and work to ensure that people can live well here across generations and regardless of their income.«

At the district council meeting (BVV) on Thursday last week, no district office could be elected, mainly because the Left, which has become the strongest party in the southeast district, had not yet nominated any staff. As a result, the SPD and the Greens agreed to once again form a counting community with the Left. According to the SPD, there have not yet been any serious negotiations about this. Because the SPD and the Greens first wanted to know which personnel the Left was running with. The Left has 15 district representatives in the BVV, the SPD, which has been the strongest party in the district for years, only has nine this time. Together with the Greens, who have six district representatives, they have a solid majority.  

According to a press release, the Left district board is relying on Filips' many years of administrative and leadership experience. The qualified sociologist with additional qualifications in criminal law worked for 18 years, mainly in managerial positions at the Federal Employment Agency, before becoming head of the social welfare office in Marzahn-Hellersdorf in 2025. Filips lives in Johannisthal and is a member of the Left Treptow-Köpenick district board. He is an avowed fan of 1. FC Union. He says: "I want to take responsibility for the most beautiful district in Berlin and work to ensure that people can live well here across generations and regardless of their income." According to Filips, everyone should belong in the district regardless of income, origin or lifestyle. “I will work for an affordable, solidarity-based and open Treptow-Köpenick – with a clear stance against racism and exclusion,” says Filips.

Standing for election for the mayor's office in Treptow-Köpenick: Guido Filips from the Left Photo: BA Marzahn-Hellersdorf According to her party's wishes, Carolin Weingart should become a city councilor again. Which department she will run for can only be clarified in consultation with the other parties. The SPD and CDU are also each allowed to nominate one district office member. The AfD is also allowed to propose two people for the district office and has already named names. But it is unlikely that they will be elected.

Weingart explains that she wants to continue her work in the district office “because Treptow-Köpenick is a district in transition. In the coming years it will be decided whether our district remains social, livable and affordable for everyone. The focus of her previous work in the district office was improving medical care and senior work, which is particularly important there because of the age structure in Treptow-Köpenick.

This article cost you nothing. Us: research, production and technology. We saved on office rent as well as printing and distribution. And we gave up salary. Nevertheless, the calculation doesn't work without you. We need 300,000 euros by the end of the year. You pay what you can, in return we keep writing.

No paywall, no small print, just one goal: that nd stays.