Only half of the Israeli public voted yesterday, Oct. 22, in the local municipal elections. More than any specific candidate, the real winners were apathy and corruption. It was a no-confidence vote in local authority as an entity that can influence the life of the Israeli citizen.

The election data was most depressing in the large cities headed by Tel Aviv and Jerusalem; even fewer people voted there when compared with the previous elections of 2008. The intriguing battle in Jerusalem between incumbent Mayor Nir Barkat (who was re-elected) and Moshe Leon, the candidate of Knesset members Avigdor Liberman and Aryeh Deri, did not prod the city residents enough to leave their homes for the ballot boxes. Only 36% voted this time, in contrast with 43% in Jerusalem’s last round.

Tel Aviv — the city that led the state’s largest social protest movement about two years ago when it “hosted” giant demonstrations involving hundreds of thousands of citizens from all over the country — registered especially meager voting statistics. The incumbent veteran Mayor Ron Huldai prevailed over Meretz candidate Knesset member Nitzan Horowitz. Only 31% of the city’s population voted, compared with 36% in the previous election.

Huldai is perceived as a much-esteemed mayor who gets high marks for his running of the city. But the election percentages show that most of the Tel Aviv residents no longer believe in their ability to make a difference or, worse, they don’t understand the effect of local government on the quality of their lives and the education of their children. True, a city mayor —­ even the mayor of a rich city such as Tel Aviv — cannot affect the price of cottage cheese or of housing. However, he can view his public role and mission through a social-justice perspective; he can direct municipal resources to the weak and improve the municipal educational system.