chairperson of the council serving as mayor. The area councils hear and adjudicate on matters concerning their district. The district of Freiolsheim includes the original town of Freiolsheim, the village of Mittelberg and the hamlet of Moosbronn. The core area of Gaggenau includes the town of Gaggenau, the village Ottenau, and the hamlet Amalienberg. The Oberweier district includes the villages of Oberweier and Niederweier. The Bad Rotenfels district includes the original village of Bad Rotenfels and the hamlet of Winkel. The original villages of Hörden, Michelbach, Selbach and Sulzbach were retained as separate districts. Politics Municipal The council of the town of Gaggenau is made up of 26 seats. Mayor When local government was established in the 16th century, a judge-advocate was appointed for life by the Margraviate Overseer to protect the Margrave's interests. By the end of the century, this judge-advocate had expanded to six people to govern the town. At that time, the Margrave of Baden or his representative appointed the jury magistrates as life appointments. In 1809, the office of Vogt ('Steward') was created, appointed by the Margrave. In 1832, a new state law transformed local government. The citizens of the community were to elect a Mayor, which replaced the Vogt; and a Council of 5-6 members. In 1933, the Nazi policy of Gleichschaltung effectively abolished local and state government and put all German territory under national administrative control. After the demise of the Nazi regime in 1945, state and local governments were re-established. In 1971, the office of Deputy Mayor was established. Stewards and mayors Florus was elected as Mayor on 25 March 2007 in a runoff election. Florus won against candidates Alois Degler, Wolfgang Seckler and former Mayor Michael Schulz. He was reelected in March 2015 with 95,13 % of the votes. He was the only candidate. Coat of arms The coat of arms of Gaggenau consists of a white representation of a Sester (an old Roman unit of measure for liquids and grain) on a red background. The municipal flag is white and red. The current coat of arms began appearing on town reference documents in the 18th century, but was replaced in 1901 with a split design of a cogwheel (symbolizing industry in general) on one side and a glass beaker (for the local glassworks industry) on the other. In 1938, the emblem was changed again, this time with the Gaggenau Sester on