in 2001 to 50.8%. Of 9,030 eligible voters, only 4,589 went to the polls. The next municipal election in Hesse will take place in March 2011. At the last municipal election on 18 March 2001, the result was as seen at left. The number of seats had been reduced from 37 in 1997. Mayor The greater community's first mayor in 1974 was Hans Hauswirth (CDU). He led the community for thirty years, leaving office only in 2004. On 21 March of that year, Bernd Schmidt of the Free Voters' Community became Dautphetal's new mayor. Town partnerships Cikó, Hungary, since 1997. Diesdorf, Saxony-Anhalt, partnership between Evangelical-Lutheran parishes in the two places. Kazan, Russian Tatarstan, partnership between Evangelical-Lutheran parish in Dautphetal and Russian-Evangelical parish in Kazan. Religion Institutions Evangelical-Lutheran parishes Free Evangelical parishes Catholic parishes New Apostolic Church in Hesse Christliche Versammlung ("Christian Assembly") Herborn-Dillenburger Werk Ev. Gemeinschaftsverein (Evangelical association) Economy and infrastructure The economy in Dautphetal is evenly split between industry and trade, while the services sector is a bit smaller. Historically, the one industry that has grown especially in strength and is particularly well represented is the steel and moulding industry. Although Dautphetal with the Lahn valley and its widespread woodlands offers good potential for recreation and tourism, it has hitherto not been exploited as such. Over the last few years, however, some small development has been seen in this field of endeavour, as witnessed by the membership of the regional Lahn-Dill-Bergland club. Established enterprises The greatest employer in the community is the firm Roth Industries GmbH & Co. KG. This worldwide active business has all together more than 1,100 workers. After being founded in 1947 as a simple handicraft business, the firm has steadily grown and is nowadays represented in Europe, North and South America, and even in China. Alongside household products (such as shower partitions), synthetic manufacturing and environmental technology (tank manufacturing), companies in machine building and aggregate manufacture are parts of the conglomerate. Johnson Controls maintains a location in Friedensdorf. This company makes vehicle fuel tanks and car seats, employing 200 people to do so. The firm Bamberger, formerly Europe's third-biggest manufacturer of enamelled-steel bathtubs, and with 200 employees one of the biggest firms in the community, was taken over by the Kaldewei company and in 2005 it was broken up. Planning In the 2001 Middle Hesse Regional Plan, Dautphetal is designated a low centre in the