Marta Gasco is the only new face of the Dénia government that comes from the PSPV. In fact, until very recently there was no question of being part of an electoral list, let alone a public administration. But it is not because she is not interested in changing things, because she has been part of various solidarity projects in the municipality and has been, and is, very involved with sports and the festival of Moors and Christians from Denia. But it was not until his own Vicent Grimalt asked him for help that he decided to take advantage of that opportunity to improve his city.
The mayor meets with us in the Dénia.com office in one of the few moments that she was available, since she has to balance her demanding schedule working for her company (since she is not released) and her tasks in charge of none other than half a dozen areas: OMIC, OAC, Transparency, Modernization, Social Center and Classrooms for the Third Age. Many departments in which she has had to catch up but which she faces, as she herself says, with great desire and emotion.
ASK. It is the first time that you participate in a political campaign. What did you think of the non-stop campaign and the nerves, I imagine, on election night?
ANSWER. It was a lot of nerves, because I thought I was going to come out as a councilor according to the forecasts we had, but of course, as the results came out I began to get a little nervous. And then there was that bittersweet feeling because we had an electoral victory, but at the same time we were not happy with what had happened in Valencia, we were not happy with what had happened in many surrounding towns. In the end, the nerves turned into that bittersweet feeling of saying "I don't know if I am more afraid now, more than before, because of the situation that surrounds us, or if I have more energy because we have to reverse this and work harder". It was a mix of many emotions.
Q. And in the case of the electoral campaign? Because from the outside it looks exciting, with a lot of hustle and bustle. Is it the same from the inside?
R. For me it was a bit hard, because I work 40 hours in a private company and I also work part-time. It was all day to work and go to the campaign. It was a bit expensive and harsh in that sense. But at the same time we were very excited to be able to talk to the people, to be able to explain the program to them... The party really likes word of mouth, being with the people, and not putting up a tent and waiting for them to come and ask. We went to the neighborhoods and I liked that a lot. It was a wonderful experience.
Q. Why did you decide to appear on the PSPV list?
R. The opportunity that was offered to me was to participate in the sectorial ones. I didn't even know what the sectorial ones were doing. For me it was totally new. Vicent [Grimalt] called me directly and told me: "I would like you to participate in the sectorial ones because you are a person who interacts a lot, you know the city a lot and you are involved". Sure, how am I going to say no? In the end, citizens always complain about things, if you are given the opportunity to participate to change them, you cannot say no. I participated in the sectorial meetings and got to know the people better. I was very pleased, really. Then, after the sectoral ones, I suppose they valued the contributions of the people, what they can do, and that is when they asked me to go on the list. At first I said that I couldn't. I have no experience, I have never done it. At first it was a very scary moment, but then I appreciated it, I thought and I said yes. And, well, there we are embarked.
Q. Have you ever thought about being a representative of Dénia? Doesn't it give you some vertigo?
R. I had never thought of being a representative of Dénia. In fact, for me she already gave a bit of vertigo to be a standard-bearer for Moors and Christians. The fact of being in the foreground already made me have a hard time at first. After that I have enjoyed it a lot. That was commented to Vicent. If I was already nervous as a flag bearer, how am I going to be a councilor! I had not even thought about being a representative of Dénia, but neither about getting into politics. In the end here we are, trying to do our best.
Q. And you will be in charge of various areas such as OMIC, Modernization, Transparency, OAC, Social Center and Classrooms for the Third Age. A large number of very different departments a priori. Are you happy with the task you have been entrusted with?
R. The truth is that if. Now I'm happy. When they told me, I thought that, since I have to learn, they put me where they put me, because I didn't care a bit. Now that I'm inside, that I'm getting to know the task they do and I've seen the technicians how they work, I'm very happy that they assigned me those areas.
Q. How have these first days in the town hall been?
R. At first a bit of chaos due to the issue of combining my work. There are many very different teams, I have to meet with everyone to learn what they do, what they need, what we have to change or improve... At the beginning it is a lot of information and practically every day I have to meet with a team or another until I realize how everything works. Also, now you're inside and when a problem comes up it's me they call and I have to find solutions. A bit stressful, sleeping five or six hours a day because then I have to work to make up the hours. Not because of anyone's pressure to update me from now on, it's more for myself because I want to be there, to know what's on and to be able to answer when asked.
Q. You presided over the first act as councilor with the end of the course of the Classrooms for the Third Age. What do you think about it?
R. Yeah, it was go in and start that week. I really liked it because it helped me to learn, in addition to internal procedures, what we are doing and contributing. Also to see the improvement options and what things would change. It has served to excite me more because seeing our elders so happy and sharing the experiences with them has been very nice.
Q. What do you think of the work that has been done so far in those councils that have touched you?
R. I think they have been working in a certain way for a long time and everything is very controlled. I said the same thing in all the departments, I don't come here to change or turn from top to bottom as if I now knew better than anyone how they have to work. I want things that work and are good to be left as they are, and those that I saw as having the opportunity to improve, obviously, try to improve them. Coming from outside, as an outsider, you have a vision to see things that those inside don't even realize, because they've been doing it the same way for a long time without thinking if perhaps it could be done better in another way. But in general I think that work has been done very well and they have very well established and controlled procedures.
Q. What will be the main objectives of these councils in this legislature?
R. The objective that I set myself is to give visibility to the departments. Because it is not the same if you say that you are from Sports or Culture, that people have it very controlled. If you tell them the names of my departments, they wonder what we're doing there. I want there to be visibility because very important tasks are being carried out in those departments that provide an excellent service to the public and I think that the amount of work they do and the good work they do is unknown. I want to make visible that it is there, that it works well and that people know it.
I also have ideas for the part of the Elderly, activities and things that can be done to continue working as a Friendly City for the Elderly and with the established plan. It is the only area that I have seen that is perhaps a bit stagnant, surely due to the pandemic that has been much more noticeable among older people.
Q. What do you think of the work that has been done in the town hall at the level of transparency?
R. In that team, really, they work super well. It is a department in which people do not know so much what they do, until you find yourself in the situation of needing to consult something and go to get the information. They are really efficient in the answers. They have received awards for several years for being one of the most transparent town halls in the Valencian Community.
Q. Regarding Modernization, it seems that the future of the administrations lies in the digitization of their offices. Will the future be more virtual and less physical windows?
R. I do not think so. It is clear that there are many things that you can do online and people know how to handle themselves more and do online procedures, and we must take advantage of this and promote it, because we are preventing people from having to travel. But we cannot leave aside the fact that we have a part of the population, it may be more adult or it may be with less capacity or ease, which we cannot leave aside and we cannot remove face-to-face attention. One of the important points for me is that formation. And not only for the elderly, there are young people who do not know how to handle an online procedure in the administration. It is not reducing the face-to-face windows, it is improving the online ones so that it is easier for people to carry out the procedures.
Q. As you say, digitizing care can be a great barrier for older people who want to carry out procedures or consultations. How are you going to solve it?
R. One thing that we have wanted to implement from the outset at the OAC is to have a computer available to people so that when you come to carry out a procedure it is not just to go in, sit down and you have already done it, but you can do it yourself guided by an official. Receive that training and learn how the process is done. It has some limitations, because you have to have an electronic ID or know how to use a PIN code, or if you don't have the certificate installed, doing these procedures is complicated. We also need prior training in classrooms for the elderly.
What you have to do is lower your salary and work more