I'm sure that she's great. But I wonder if perhaps Eli Cohen has a better chance of defeating the charedi candidate - quite simply, because he's a man, and voters who are in-between are more likely to vote for him?

That's great if Eli Cohen has a "better chance"... but is he a mayor who will accomplish for Beit Shemesh? or Aliza Bloch for that matter?? The only thing that seems to be the measuring stick for all the various candidates is their ability to defeat the chareidi candidate; great platform to run on... best of luck to them all...

there is a reasonable consideration of who is more electable. every party deals with that when picking their candidate, and voters in primaries consider that when choosing who to support, etc. Voters look at what a candidate plans to do and combines that with their chances of success.

and for some people that is perhaps the greater of the cncerns.

I know almost nothing about Aliza Bloch, so I am not saying anything about her or her plans or her qualifications, etc.

However, with Eli Cohen he has been analyzing many aspects of the city and has been putting together plans of issues and how to deal with them. He has a vision for the city. He has tremendous experience in dealing with massive budgets, government offices, bureacracies, managing teams of thousands of employees, he wants to prioritize bringing business to Bet Shemesh 9for tax revenue) and bringing jobs to bet shemesh. He wants to build neighborhoods for everybody and plan them properly so all services that are need will be provided right away.

I don't know about the other candidates, but regarding Eli Cohen, he has vision and he has plans for the city. and he has the capability of putting it into effect. that is why i support him.

Given what the name "Beit Shemesh" has become known for around the world, electing Aliza Bloch would be a fantastic PR blitz, even if she were totally unqualified.

Like you Rafi, I don't know if she has a better plan or is better able to implement that plan than Eli Cohen. But she holds herself with poise and speaks articulately. If she has advisors/implementers such as Eli Cohen around her, that could work.

As far as "electability", the fact that she's got Bayit Yehudi, Yesh Atid/Dov Lipman and Likud behind her is a significant factor.

That said, I'm a bit of a cynic about all the "unity" talk. A vote for Bloch (or any of the opposition candidates) is not a vote for unity - it's a vote against charedization. RBS-B (and a good chunk of Alef) are NOT interested in unity. They want things done their way. Aliza Bloch will oppose that, enforce things like gender equality in public spaces, and take a no-nonsense approach to religious extremist violence and intimidation. Which IMO would be a very good thing!