さいたま市長に清水氏４選　共産系新人破る

　任期満了に伴うさいたま市長選は２３日投開票され、無所属で現職の清水勇人氏（５９）が、無所属新人でさいたま地区労働組合協議会議長の前島英男氏（６８）＝共産支持＝を破り４選を果たした。投票率は２８．７０％で、前回（３１．４４％）を下回り過去最低を更新した。
　清水氏は、２０２０年度の調査で「住みやすい」と答えた市民が８６％と市長就任前の０８年度から１０ポイント以上上昇するなど、３期１２年の実績を強調。新型コロナウイルス感染症対策の継続・強化なども訴えた。自民党や立憲民主党、公明党が応援に回り、各党支持層も取り込んだ。
　前島氏は現市政に批判的な層への浸透を狙い、学校給食費の無料化や公共料金引き下げ、大型公共事業の見直しを掲げたが、及ばなかった。（2021/05/23-23:02）

Hayato Shimizu, 59, won his fourth term as mayor of the city of Saitama, the capital of Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, in an election on Sunday.
   Shimizu, an independent supported by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner, Komeito, and the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, defeated independent rookie Hideo Maejima, 68, who had the backing of the opposition Japanese Communist Party.
   Voter turnout stood at a record-low of 28.70 pct.
   During his campaign, Shimizu emphasized achievements he has made as Saitama mayor, such as boosting the proportion of Saitama residents saying that the city is livable to 86 pct in a survey in fiscal 2020, up by more than 10 percentage points from the proportion in fiscal 2008, before he took office.
   Meanwhile, Maejima vowed to make school lunches free of charge and lower utility charges.