LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Voters in Portugal cast ballots Sunday in local elections, with attention on the mayoral race in Lisbon after a deadly streetcar crash last month.
Mayor Carlos Moedas, head of a right-of-center coalition, faces left-of-center Alexandra Leitão, a law professor, in the municipal race for a four-year term.
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A man waits his turn to vote next to a mural from Portugal's fascist period at a polling station for Portugal's municipal elections in Lisbon, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
A woman checks where to vote at a polling station for Portugal's municipal elections in Lisbon, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
A worker picks up an empty ballot box at a polling station for Portugal's municipal elections in Lisbon, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
People walk on confetti left behind by supporters of the left-of-center coalition Viver Lisboa, (To Live Lisbon), campaigning in downtown Lisbon ahead of Sunday's municipal elections, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Alexandra Leitao, leader of the left-of-center coalition Viver Lisboa, or To Live Lisbon, claps her hands during a campaign action in downtown Lisbon ahead of Sunday's municipal elections, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas speaks to journalists at the site of a derailed electric streetcar in downtown Lisbon, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
The vote comes after 16 people including 11 tourists were killed in a streetcar crash Sept. 3, causing a public outcry. Moedas rejected any blame and refused to resign.
Carris, the company operating the streetcar service and other public transport in the city, is overseen by Lisbon City Council.
But many say their vote is influenced far more by other issues in the city, such as housing policies and trash collection as Lisbon creaks under the strain of a surge in tourists and a steep climb in real estate prices.
“Chaotic traffic, a total mess, garbage like we hadn’t seen in many years," said José Rosa, 72. "Of course this garbage issue is the result of a series of reasons but it needs planning. Politics is not just about performing in the face of issues, it is about anticipating them.”
His vote would not be influenced by the streetcar crash, he said.
For Sandra Almeida, one of the main issues is housing. “Us Lisbonites, we cannot live in Lisbon, we are being expelled from our own city,” she said. The streetcar crash would not influence her vote either, she said. "It was an accident that happened, I think it’s not related to political parties.”
An official investigation into the crash is focusing on whether poor maintenance was to blame for problems with the streetcar’s brakes and a safety cable.
“We’re talking about mechanical failures, not political responsibility,” Moedas said before the election.
He refused to convene a session with city councilors to discuss the crash before Sunday’s election, saying he didn’t want the tragedy to become a political football.
Lisbon voter Ana Btelho said the streetcar crash “only reinforced my opinion of the person representing us on the City Hall at the moment, and I think he represents us quite badly.”
Moedas, 55, is viewed as a rising star in Portugal’s center-right Social Democratic Party and widely regarded as a potential future prime minister. After earning a Harvard MBA, Moedas worked for Goldman Sachs and later set up his own investment management fund.
After a brief spell as a junior government minister and as a lawmaker, he became in 2014 a European commissioner in charge of the bloc’s research, innovation and science arm. His election as mayor four years ago was a common career route for politicians eyeing higher office, with political responsibility for the capital regarded as a steppingstone.
Associated Press writer Barry Hatton contributed to this report.
A man waits his turn to vote next to a mural from Portugal's fascist period at a polling station for Portugal's municipal elections in Lisbon, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
A woman checks where to vote at a polling station for Portugal's municipal elections in Lisbon, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
A worker picks up an empty ballot box at a polling station for Portugal's municipal elections in Lisbon, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
People walk on confetti left behind by supporters of the left-of-center coalition Viver Lisboa, (To Live Lisbon), campaigning in downtown Lisbon ahead of Sunday's municipal elections, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Alexandra Leitao, leader of the left-of-center coalition Viver Lisboa, or To Live Lisbon, claps her hands during a campaign action in downtown Lisbon ahead of Sunday's municipal elections, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas speaks to journalists at the site of a derailed electric streetcar in downtown Lisbon, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Konnor Griffin endured plenty of emotions when the 19-year-old shortstop learned the Pittsburgh Pirates were calling him up to the majors just a week into the season.
Shock was not one of them.
“I'm ready for this,” Griffin said Friday, just hours before making his major league debut against Baltimore at PNC Park.
The Pirates are betting big on it, making Griffin the first position player to arrive in the majors before his 20th birthday since Juan Soto did it in Washington in 2018.
Just 628 days after Pittsburgh selected him with the ninth pick in the 2024 first-year player draft, the athletic and mustachioed 6-foot-3 Griffin found a No. 6 jersey hanging in his locker at PNC Park and his name penciled in the seventh spot in the lineup against the Orioles.
On the surface, it seems fast. The reality is that Griffin checked every box — and checked every box quickly — while sprinting through the Pirates' system. The final steps came over the last week when he hit .438 in a handful of games for Triple-A Indianapolis.
Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly felt like Griffin was “pressing” near the end of spring training, when Griffin smashed three homers but also hit just .171. The club made Griffin one of the last cuts before the opening day roster was set. Yet rather than sulk, he headed to Triple-A, made a couple of adjustments, and saw immediate results.
“He just went right down and hit his stride and was able to reset in a couple of days,” Kelly said. “Which again, for anybody, is really impressive, especially for a 19-year-old kid whose hopes and dreams were to make the big leagues.”
That doesn't make Griffin unlike the millions of kids who pick up a bat when they're in elementary school. It's everything that has come after it, however, that has set Griffin apart. He raced through the lower levels of the minors last year, hitting 21 homers, driving in 94 runs, and stealing 65 bases while showcasing the range to play one of the game's most demanding defensive positions.
Yet it's not just the tangible on-field things that won the organization over. Griffin has long carried himself with the maturity of someone far older. He married his high school sweetheart, Dendy, over the winter. And she was the first one he told after Indianapolis manager Eric Patterson called Griffin to his hotel room in Columbus early Thursday to tell him he was heading to The Show.
The next 24 hours were a blur. From the short drive from Columbus to Pittsburgh to the scramble for the Mississippi native's family to make it to the ballpark that's tucked hard against the Allegheny River in time for Friday's first pitch.
Finally, just after noon, Griffin was able to relax. He trotted out to shortstop and took grounders, his frame and arm making him look very much the part of the role he's been preparing for since he was 5.
Griffin's skillset has drawn comparisons to the likes of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., heady territory for someone less than two years removed from his high school graduation. Still, he's not getting ahead of himself.
“Today is the first day of carving out a legacy that I want to build,” he said. "And I’m ready to do that and try to be right up there with those top guys.”
Griffin is the latest in a string of high-profile arrivals in Pittsburgh, from reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes to rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler to catcher Henry Davis.
The future that's been talked about since general manager Ben Cherington was hired in late 2019 is finally arriving. And perhaps it's telling of how far the club has come that Griffin is joining a roster that has undergone a significant upgrade in recent months with the additions of All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe, All-Star first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn and veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna.
“This team is loaded,” Griffin said. “I get to come in here and just be a piece of this puzzle.”
Perhaps a very big piece. For a very long time. The Pirates and Griffin have engaged in talks about a contract extension that would lock him up for most of the next decade.
Griffin demurred when asked about it on Friday, though he made his intentions very clear.
“All I’m going to say is, I want to be a Pirate for a long time,” he said. "This is a special place and I’m thankful to be here.”
Perhaps most importantly because it means he can shed the “top prospect” label and stop focusing so much on his individual development and instead turn his attention to helping the Pirates make a playoff push for the first time since the mid-2010s.
“Now it’s time to take all the skills that I’ve learned,” he said, "all the adjustments I’ve made. It’s time to go put them on the field and go win some games.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin, right, follows manager Don Kelly, center, and owner Bob Nutting into a meeting with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin meets with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin meets with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
