There is still progress to be made, yet the spotlight on women in city councils is intensifying. They are increasingly stepping into the most responsible roles and shattering traditional glass ceilings. In this note, three municipalities in the region—Santa Pola, l’Atzúbia, and Sagra—have signaled a clear trend: a female mayor will be elected, or at least the nominations strongly favor a woman for the top post, highlighting a shift in political leadership choices across parties.
For years, women candidates in municipal elections rarely drew unusual attention. This past Sunday, the landscape in Alicante showed that very few towns did not feature a female-led political formation. Normalization has taken hold from the top down. What remains notable is when a single municipality retires gender as a question and instead presents a slate where the most important leadership roles are held by women across multiple parties.
Santa Pola, a coastal city with about 36,000 residents in the Baix Vinalopó region, illustrates this shift. The council is currently composed of ten members from the Partido Popular, six from the PSPV, one from Ciudadanos, one from Vox, one from Compromís, and two unaffiliated councilors. The notable development comes when several parties decide to field the same candidate as in the most recent election cycle. The Independent Citizens’ Union is the sole party to pursue a male-led mayoral bid, though it does not currently hold seats in the City Council and has nominated Victorio Pizarro for the top post.
The incumbent mayor from the PP, Loreto Serrano, is seeking reelection for a second consecutive term. Serrano’s experience within the City Council spans back to the 1990s, with roles in Social Services, Youth, Sports, Finance, Personnel, and Contracting from 1991 to 1999. After a brief interlude, she returned to municipal leadership in 2003, guiding areas such as Internal Regime, Tourism, Infrastructure, Beaches, Cleaning, and Personnel until 2015. It was in 2019 that she rose to the mayoralty, succeeding Miguel Zaragoza, who had led the council for twelve years.
Yolanda Seva, representing PSPV, returns as mayor. Her tenure as Santa Pola’s first mayor from 2015 to 2019 is noted, during which she led a left-leaning administration. Seva joined the municipal government in 2011 and has since served as the party’s general secretary and as a deputy in the regional congress, shaping policy in the capital and on local matters alike.
From Ciudadanos, the party’s sole orange councilor continues to lead as mayor. Ruth López holds a Geography and History degree from the University of Alicante and has earned a higher saxophone teaching credential from the Óscar Esplá Conservatory of Music. López aims to reclaim representation for the party in the council, continuing to push her agenda in the local chamber.
Anna Antón leads the Acord per Guanyar candidacy, featuring Compromís, Podem, and Esquerra Unida (EU) in its slate. The present spokesperson for Compromís has previously managed responsibilities related to festivals and culture at the municipal level between 2015 and 2019, adding experience to the coalition’s leadership team. Esteve Ruiz, along with other Valencian political actors, accompanies Antón, who studied law at the University of Alicante. Alba Quesada hails from the United States, and Mercedes Landa represents Podem on the slate as well.
Mireia Moya is the Vox nominee once again, returning to leadership after serving in the opposition in the prior term. Moya holds a law degree from Miguel Hernández University in Santapolera, fulfilling the party’s legal and policy considerations in local governance.
Looking ahead, the path appears ready for a woman to assume leadership once more in Santa Pola. The same pattern is expected in l’Atzúbia, a compact town of about 600 residents in Marina Alta. In this municipality, only two candidates present a female profile. María Oltra, the current mayor from Iniciativa per l’Atzúvia and Forna, seeks reelection on a slate that also includes councilors Víctor Vicente Pons and Jesús Pons. The Popular Party fields a new candidate, Pilar Ortolá, on its renewed list.
A parallel scenario unfolds in Sagra, a small community of around 420 residents. María Teresa Roselló of Gent per al Canvi runs for reelection, while Adela Aragón sits on a slate with three other councilors, including Alex Waylett and José Salvador Mut. In the Compromís per Sagra coalition, Vanesa Vives debuts as a candidate, and Olga Fernández does the same for the PP ticket.
Across these towns, the trend is unmistakable: more women are stepping into mayoral and key council roles, reflecting evolving expectations about gender parity in local government. Local voters will see how the campaigns unfold and whether the anticipated leadership shifts materialize in the ballots. The broader message remains clear—women are increasingly carving out sustained leadership pathways in small and mid-sized municipalities throughout Alicante and beyond. These developments contribute to a growing narrative of inclusive governance and representative democracy in the region. Citations: local news reports and municipal records.