Local elections | Onyeka Oshionwu: Green hopeful in Lower Saxony

Photo: Bündnis90/Die Grünen Göttingen Göttingen is facing political change. The SPD shaped the city administration for two decades. But recently there has been increasing criticism that important projects are making slow progress. Whether new cycle paths, the reuse of the old prison in the Schwerte district or the new construction of the Hainberg high school – Göttingen has been waiting for progress on several projects for years.

With the local elections, the political majorities have now shifted. In the runoff election for the office of mayor, a Green politician, Onyeka Oshionwu, won on Sunday for the first time - with a lead of 25 percentage points over the CDU candidate Ehsan Kangarani. The previous mayor Petra Broistedt (SPD) did not run again after five years in office; The new SPD candidate Florian Binger was eliminated in the first round of voting. The SPD also suffered losses in the city council.

With Oshionwu at the helm of the city administration, there is hope that the projects that have been left behind will finally make progress. The 33-year-old knows the city. She grew up there and attended the Hainberg-Gymnasium herself - the school whose upper school wing is to be demolished and rebuilt because renovation would be too expensive.

Oshionwu then completed training as a flight attendant and has worked for Lufthansa for 15 years. At the same time, she studied politics/economics and English to become a teacher so that she could teach young people alongside her work. She never lost contact with her hometown. She has been a member of the city council for five years and is also an honorary mayor. She already represents the city on numerous occasions and represents the mayor. Oshionwu received the Helene Weber Prize in 2024 for her local political commitment. With the award, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs honors women who volunteer in local politics.

Now Oshionwu should bring momentum to the administration - and ensure that decisions are implemented. It won't always be easy. An example of this is the old prison in the middle of the city center. What should be built there has been controversial for a long time: apartments, a microbrewery or a social center are being discussed. In order to explore the best idea, the city council decided to conduct a feasibility study for 180,000 euros. The project has been on hold since then.

“We have made enough plans in the last few years,” Oshionwu told the “Göttinger Tageblatt” after the election. “We have to implement it.” To do this, she wants to start in administration, advance digitalization and, in particular, strengthen the construction department.

Another question from the local newspaper asked what it meant to her to be the first person of color to lead an administration in a major German city. She initially evaded her answer and then said rather casually that people would certainly take a closer look at what she would achieve.

In the runoff election they supported the SPD and the Alliance for Sustainable Urban Development. The grassroots movement sees “numerous points of contact” with Oshionwu’s political priorities. The alliance also supported the successful cycling decision two years ago.

Now in Göttingen it is less about defining the major goals of urban development than implementing them. Cycle paths have to be planned and built, buildings have to be renovated or reused, and schools have to be built. Oshionwu's term of office will be measured by this.

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