Moedas steals super councilor from Isaltino to "make Lisbon shine"

Having served on the Oeiras City Council for 20 years and served as a councilor for eight, Joana Baptista has been gaining traction in the municipality, being considered as a successor to Isaltino Morais—who is now making his third run for the leadership in the October 12th municipal elections, running as an independent but with the support of the PSD. But Isaltino's super-councilwoman, who already held five of the most important portfolios in Oeiras, is expected to cut that journey short.

SAPO knows that Joana Baptista will be Carlos Moedas' choice to "make the city shine", the "super councilor" that the president and re-candidate for Lisbon wanted to have a global vision of the capital.

"I want to have a great councilor for public spaces, urban hygiene, and all the city's problems," said Carlos Moedas in an interview with SAPO (read here) . "It has to be someone with a knack for this, with experience, so I'm analyzing who can take on this responsibility of always making the city shine. This is very important to me, because it's these small, big things that make the city (...) and now we need a push here, which requires a great doer," he explained, without revealing names.

SAPO knows that the current councilor of Oeiras is the name Moedas will put forward in the lists he will present next Monday, in order to bring to Lisbon the experience of the woman who since 2017 has led in Oeiras the areas of Municipal Works; Environment and Quality of Life (except Animal Welfare, Fairs and Cemeteries); Contraventions and Municipal Police; Municipal Civil Protection; and Public Procurement for the Planning and Management Support and Planning and Management of Works, Mobility and Transport units.

The 45-year-old super councilor, born in Oeiras and who has always been professionally linked to that municipality, where she entered the legal services in 2006, assuming coordination responsibilities in the area of Civil Protection and Municipal Police even before becoming a councilor, should be confirmed on Carlos Moedas' lists in Lisbon on the 18th.

With leadership marked by "encouraging teams" and "raising awareness among residents to get them involved in solving the city's problems," say those who have worked with her, Joana Baptista will bring her experience from Oeiras to Lisbon, focusing on improving the city's environment.

According to Observador , which also reported Joana Baptista's name, Carlos Moedas' new right-hand man will also be chosen. After Filipe Anacoreta Correia, who is leaving the team, the new position will now fall to Gonçalo Reis, who recently served as a non-executive director at EGEAC - Lisboa Cultura, where he led the municipal program to promote the media sector .

Having already left Lisbon City Council, the former president of RTP has in recent months promoted a series of debates on key issues for the city, in the JUNTARLISBOA! Movement, which brought together professionals and civil society figures from various fields to provide their contributions in three central areas, already this month bringing to Carlos Moedas the first ideas and technical reflections on what Lisbon residents want for the city.