Not compatible?

DJ job gets mayor into loud trouble

DJ and mayor: a combination that has now earned Peter Reitzner from Wilhelmsburg criticism from the opposition.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/SPÖ Wilhelmsburg)

Peter Reitzner feels equally at home on the turntables and in the mayor's chair. But the combination of both worlds is causing the opposition to verbally "take a swing" at him. This is because they see conflicts of interest in the Lower Austrian politician.

At 28, Peter Reitzner from Wilhelmsburg is one of the youngest mayors in the country. After a turbulent time in office in 2023, the SPÖ politician from the district of St. Pölten is now facing his first election. Admittedly not without political headwinds. His many years as a DJ are the focus of criticism. This was said to be incompatible with his day job as a municipal public relations officer.

Stolen motives, conflict of interest?
According to the accusation, Reitzner would assign himself jobs and edit and publish the performances during working hours. In addition, his SPÖ uses the very graphic design on advertising posters that the city paid a lot of money to develop years ago.

"Is the municipality paying for the SPÖ election campaign or was the design stolen by the SPÖ?" asks the opposition. The fact that the mayor's superior in the office is also the SPÖ's club chairman is the straw that breaks the camel's back and screams conflict of interest, they say.

The 28-year-old rejects all of this and describes the accusations as "deliberate misrepresentations that come as no surprise shortly before the municipal elections". Reitzner, who has been active in municipal politics for ten years and has been a municipal employee at the waterworks for just as long, has also been responsible for public relations for one and a half years, as he emphasizes: "This was supported by all parties." 

However, the SPÖ club chairman mentioned by the opposition had already been appointed by his mayoral predecessor. "I have taken over the situation, there is no party politics in our work. Every party has the opportunity to present itself in our publications," assures Reitzner.

The fact that Reitzner is not running in the SPÖ Red also brings him criticism.

(Bild: SPÖ WIlhelmsburg)

The Social Democrat also vehemently denies that he receives money from the municipality for his DJ work. "I provide my services as a DJ to the municipality free of charge. The work for these events is done in my free time and is not counted as working time," says Reitzner. The municipality's own events are planned, organized, set up and carried out in the public relations office. "We do everything ourselves. This means that they cost the municipality very little," says the mayor.

Conscious decision for the colors
Advertising on the posters with the city's turquoise-pink colors was not only allowed for the SPÖ. "Any party could have used the colors of 'Wümschburg'. We deliberately chose these colors in order to remain authentic. A classic SPÖ election campaign in red would not have matched my claim to be mayor for everyone," emphasizes Reitzner.