Esteemed people of Tatlısu;
From the very first day my candidacy for Mayor was announced, I made a deliberate choice: to be among our people first — to listen, to talk, and to share our projects with our community…
That is why we have been among you for a long time now. In the coffeehouse, on the street, during home visits; we came together with our young people, our women, our producers, our tradespeople and our elders. And we continue to do so. We explained our ideas for Tatlısu and the projects we have prepared. We listened to problems. We noted expectations. We considered suggestions.
Because in our understanding of municipal governance, “our people are not voters to be remembered only at election time, but companions on the road who have a say at every stage of governance.”
Today, it gives me great joy to see that the projects we have been presenting for days are valued by our people, talked about, embraced, and recommended to everyone as worthy projects. Because for us, this is the finest outcome of all:
If an idea is embraced by the people, that idea now belongs to Tatlısu.
Now it is time to share with a wider audience the vision we have been working on for days — the vision we have presented in the field, submitted to the views of our people, and continue to present.
Tatlısu 2026–2030 • 10 Main Projects, One Goal: The Tatlısu of the Future
We will protect what exists. We will complete what is lacking. We will bring to Tatlısu what it does not yet have.
1. A Strong Municipality – 25 Institutional Transformation Projects
We will build a municipality founded on merit; one that improves the employment rights of our hardworking municipal staff in a realistic and sustainable way, and strengthens its employees through in-service training.
We will establish an accountable administration that uses its resources wisely through digitalization, transparency, a strong financial structure, water security and energy efficiency.
We will protect, renovate and make productive the facilities belonging to our municipality — foremost among them the Zambak Holiday Village — and our existing assets. By bringing idle areas back into use, we will transform them into structures that generate value for our municipality and the Tatlısu economy.
We will protect what exists. We will complete what is lacking.
A strong municipality, a strong Tatlısu.
2. Tatlısu Gratitude (Vefa) Project
We owe a debt of gratitude to our elders, who have grown in years and given us so much. For them: the “Vefa Card” program, the “Advanced Active Living Center”, the Vefa Helpline and support services — a social municipal approach that reaches our elders 365 days a year.
They built our yesterday; today, we will stand by their side.
3. Tatlısu Social Housing Project
Concrete steps will finally be taken on social housing — something Tatlısu has been waiting for over many years.
In line with the social housing vision set out by our Prime Minister, the “Tatlısu Social Housing Project” will be brought to life in the new term through strong cooperation with our central government.
We want our young people and families to access housing on affordable terms, to stay in Tatlısu, and to build their future in their own hometown.
We were born on this land, we grew up on this land; and we will build our future on this land as well.
4. Tatlısu Future and Life Center
Within a single modern complex, we will create a Children and Youth Academy, a Sports Academy and Complex, a Culture and Arts Center, technology and production spaces, and a multi-purpose event center.
Our children will discover, our youth will grow, and Tatlısu will live together.
We will create space for the future and add value to life.
5. A Producing, Entrepreneurial and Prospering Tatlısu
We will strengthen our local production under the “Tatlısu Produces” brand and stand by our producers, tradespeople, women and young entrepreneurs. While expanding opportunities for training, mentorship, projects, funds, grants and market access, we will connect tourism, events, sports and digital promotion with the local economy.
Tatlısu will produce, and our people will prosper.
6. Blue Corridor
We will protect our unique 22-kilometer coastline and open it to our people, integrating it with walking paths, event areas, water sports, tourism and the local economy.
Twenty-two kilometers of coastline will become the shared asset of Tatlısu.
7. Tatlısu Living Memory
We will make our departed elders, who gave so much to us, unforgettable in our streets and in the homes where they last lived. With QR-coded Memory Houses, an Oral History Archive, a Culture and Memory Museum, a Scent Museum and a local products center, we will carry our past into the future.
Voices may fall silent, but their stories will not be lost.
8. Four Seasons Tatlısu Festivals and Events
In our festival and events approach — which we have finalized and detailed through consultations with our stakeholders — “drawing crowds to Tatlısu for a single day” will not be our main goal. We will organize events that genuinely benefit our tradespeople, our producers, our tourism and the promotion of Tatlısu, making both Tatlısu and the labor of our people visible.
Not a one-day crowd, but four seasons of gain.
9. A Tatlısu That Protects Its Nature and Its Living Creatures
By protecting Tatlısu's natural beauty, we will create value for both daily life and tourism. With the Tatlısu Nature and Scenic Park, an artificial waterfall, a glass viewing terrace and picnic areas, we will bring our nature together with our people. We will establish an Animal Life and Adoption Center, carry out spaying/neutering and vaccination programs, build a volunteer support network, and create controlled water points for wildlife.
We will protect our nature and care for every living creature.
10. Tatlısu Culture and Solidarity Association
We will lead the creation of a strong organization that reinforces culture, education, volunteering and solidarity, and stands by our students and our people in need.
No one in Tatlısu will ever feel alone.
We Will Bring These Projects to Life Together
We are not making our people an unrealistic promise such as “We will do everything from the municipal budget.”
We are putting forward a different understanding of municipal governance:
We will match the right project with the right partner and the right funding. We will develop projects that add economic value to our region and our people.
- We will draw on the academic and scientific expertise of our universities.
- We will cooperate with our public institutions, civil society organizations, professional bodies, producers, entrepreneurs and experts in their fields.
- We will actively pursue national and international project, fund, grant and technical support opportunities, bringing new resources to Tatlısu.
Because new-generation municipal governance is not merely spending the existing budget. It is developing projects. It is creating resources. It is building partnerships. It is planning wisely. And it is returning the value created back to the people.
In the coming days, we will also share with our people, one by one, the sub-projects under each of our 10 main project headings.
We will not simply say “We will do it.” We will also explain what it will bring to Tatlısu.
We will then present to our people our Tatlısu 2026–2030 Vision Booklet, containing all of our projects, implementation models and roadmap in detail. Because we are not merely preparing for an election.
We are coming to plan the future together, starting today.
We are coming for a Tatlısu that changes its course in four years — one that produces, prospers, protects, shares, and where people are proud to live.
On our land, with our people; together we will write the new story of Tatlısu.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Muharrem Özdemir / UBP Candidate for Mayor of Tatlısu
