RIGA - Riga Mayor Aivars Aksenoks has wasted little time in making changes since he took over the reigns at the City Council two weeks ago. Already he has lifted a ban on casinos put in place by his predecessor, removed bureaucrats from high posts, and challenged a previous agreement signed with an international advertising firm.
Analysts have interpreted all these moves as Aksenoks and New Era's 's the party he hails from 's way of dismantling the legacy of previous mayor Gundars Bojars, a Social Democrat.
Aksenoks surprised many when he lifted the previous moratorium on the construction of new casinos in the city last week, a move that Bojars had fought for. The former mayor claimed that as many as 50 new gambling places could appear otherwise.
Some have speculated that lifting the restrictions was tantamount to rewarding donors with ties to gambling. But Aksenoks' spokeswoman was quick to deny that.
Since taking office, Aksenoks has also removed some bureaucrats from their positions since they had acted on dubious ethical grounds.
Particularly, Vilnis Strams, director of the city development department, and Janis Zviedris, director of the property department, were given their marching orders April 11.
Aksenoks reportedly removed the two after becoming acquainted with information from a draft audit by the state auditor. His press secretary, Laila Spalina, told the Baltic News Service that Bojars' decision, in connection with a deal signed with Clear Channel Latvia, violated the law, which caused a substantial loss of income for the city.
The city sold the right to advertise in public spaces to Clear Channel Latvia, but at a deep discount 's 60 percent 's to the going market rate. As a result, the municipal government reported a shortfall in revenue of over 220,000 lats from 2002 's 2005. The lower price was partly due to the construction of public toilets in Livu Square.
Aksenoks has asked the country's anti-corruption bureau to evaluate the deal signed by Bojars, Zvierdris and Strams with Clear Channel Latvia.
Bojars has denied any wrongdoing and said he had nothing to fear, even if the anti-corruption bureau takes a look.
Riga Executive Director Eriks Skapers, another New Era member, has also taken part in the sweep-up of city operations. He removed Vita Zablovska, acting director of the city's northern district. Skapers appointed his deputy, Andris Grinbergs, to a spot held after the 2001 city election by Maris Tralmaks, a Social Democrat.
Grinbergs was chosen partly because of his experience in organizing U.S. President Bill Clinton's visit in 1994, since there is much preparation ahead for current U.S. President George W. Bush's upcoming visit in early May.
Skapers said the ongoing reorganization in city operations should be completed within a month.
"This is something that the Social Democrats did in 2001 when they came to office and is common on the government level," political scientist Janis Ikstens said. "The question is, do we have enough skilled and well trained people to replace them?"
A similar clean-up occurred when New Era leader Einars Repse became prime minister in 2002. He set out to remove and replace many government bureaucrats, but in the end, some were able to return to their jobs after going to court.
Lifting the law against casinos is part of Riga's development plan that will govern the city until 2018 and draw up the lines where casinos may be districted, Aksenoks said. Bojars exceeded his authority when he passed the law on lotteries and gambling, which previously controlled the number of gambling institutions in the city, the mayor said.
