The mayor of Latvia's second-largest city, Andrejs Elksnins, (Harmony party) criticized the association for lack of involvement in the administrative territorial reform. The association has also done little to defend local governments' interests regarding catering for schoolchildren in grades 1-4 and renovation of roads in the regions, he claimed.
Daugavpils Vice-Mayor Janis Lacplesis (Latgale party), a former mayor of the city, said during the council debates that quitting the LALRG had always been a controversial issue. LALRG has until now been able to withstand political influence, but now the situation has changed, he explained.
Another former Daugavpils Mayor, Rihards Eigims (Our Party) said, explaining why he opposed quitting the association, that Daugavpils itself was not sufficiently involved in the LALRG's work. He also reminded that Riga and Kraslava Region, which at one time in the past also quit the association, have now renewed their membership in LALRG.
The majority of Daugavpils council members nevertheless voted for quitting the LALRG, while two council members voted against and one abstained.
