D66 will not participate in the municipal elections in Borger-Odoorn next year. The board of the party in Southeast Drenthe decided this together with party leader John Goeree. The party has not managed to find enough candidates to compile a list.
Goeree is disappointed with the withdrawal of his party. “Rationally, I fully understand the decision, but emotionally I am far from ready. There are many themes that are close to my heart. The Peat Colonies are in first place. I will continue to work on this as a councilor until March and in the meantime I will see how I can contribute to the community.”
He does not rule out in advance a switch to another party. “I will never switch to another national party. I am a D66 member through and through, but a local party is something I have to think about. I could also do something administratively for the residents.”
Chairman Hoogeveen would have no problem with that. “It’s always good when someone can show the progressive sound of D66 in a different way.”
With the withdrawal of D66, only six parties will remain in Borger-Odoorn, although the PVV also has intentions to participate. “This puts local democracy under pressure,” says Goeree. “You can see that it is not just a problem for our party, but that more parties encounter these problems.”
It is the second time in more than a week that D66 has dropped out in a Drenthe municipality. The party previously decided not to participate in the elections in Westerveld. D66 also found too few suitable candidates there.