12.05.2026 15:01
Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Memduh Büyükkılıç, regarding the ongoing "private life" debates in politics recently, said, "I am a mayor; citizens should and must concern themselves with my private life. They say, 'That's my private business.' Excuse me, but then you should step away from here and live your private life like that. A person who is in the public eye and uses public resources has to be careful about their private life."
Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Memduh Büyükkılıç, answering questions from journalists in the "Anatolian Talks" program of the Turkish Press Federation, responded to a question regarding some mayors who resigned from the CHP and joined the AK Party, saying, "Of course, we are elected from a political party, but we do not become partisan with our services. Those who divide lose. A mayor is one who serves."
"NO DEDUCTIONS ARE MADE FROM ANY MUNICIPALITY'S SHARE"
Regarding claims that the budget shares of CHP municipalities are not being distributed, Büyükkılıç, recalling his term as a Member of Parliament, said, "I say this as someone who has seen opposition membership and opposition municipalism. No deductions are made from any municipality's share."
"A MAYOR SWITCHING TO ANOTHER PARTY IS NOT ELEGANT BUT..."
"We are all elected from a party. A mayor switching to another party may not be elegant, but," said Büyükkılıç, responding to criticisms directed at mayors who moved from their former party to another. Büyükkılıç remarked, "When accusing the other side, we should also question ourselves a bit. A person is not acceptable when with you and the worst when away from you."
"A MAYOR CANNOT SAY 'IT'S MY PRIVATE LIFE'"
Responding to questions about the recent "private life" discussions on the agenda, Büyükkılıç said, "I am a mayor; citizens are concerned with my private life, and they should be. They say, 'It's my private life.' Sorry, but then step away from here and live your private life accordingly. A person who is in the public eye and uses public resources must be careful about their private life. They cannot say 'It's my private life.' It doesn't work if you ignore your own weaknesses and meddle with others. We need to question ourselves every day. We cannot say, 'Never mind, it's none of my business.'"
"THIS YEAR WE EXPERIENCED OUR GOLDEN AGE IN THE SKI SEASON"
Evaluating Kayseri, Büyükkılıç stated that the season is still ongoing at the Erciyes Ski Resort. Büyükkılıç said, "Over 3 million 300 thousand visitors came. There were visitors from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brazil. It is a facility with 41 slopes and 112 km of slope length. This year we experienced our golden age. An average of 200 million turnover contributed to our country. We need to increase our bed capacity. New investments are ongoing."