The CDA in Horst aan de Maas has put Elbert Joosten forward as alderman in the newly formed council of B&W.
This puts current alderman Han Geurts aside. In the elections in March, Geurts was still second on the CDA’s list of candidates. He has been one of the two aldermen of the CDA for the past four years.
Disappointment
Geurts is therefore very disappointed with the state of affairs. He says he has been informed by the CDA that they do not support his candidacy for a new period as alderman. “I’m not about the decision. But that the CDA councilors have taken this without first talking to me hurts me a lot,” said Geurts.
To miss
In any case, he will remain on until the new college is installed. Geurts said in a statement that he would like to thank all those associations, foundations and their many volunteers for the great cooperation. “Your work and commitment to our municipality has given me a lot of energy over the past four years and I will miss that,” says Geurts.
Performance
In concrete terms, he refers, among other things, to projects such as the renovation of community center ‘t Gasthoês and to the steps that have been taken in making accommodations, quality of life, sport and culture more sustainable. The intended alderman candidate Elbert Joosten (61) was previously a councilor and party chairman of the CDA from 2006 to 2014. His party speaks of an experienced and enthusiastic candidate with a heart for Horst aan de Maas and its inhabitants.
Contribution
Joosten himself calls it fantastic to be able to serve society as alderman. “Society demands cooperation and decisiveness to meet major challenges such as housing, a service organization and a solidarity-based society. I’m really looking forward to making my contribution to that,” explains Joosten.
Relationship withheld
Earlier it was announced that party leader Rudy Tegels was no longer available for a new term as alderman. He resigned from his position just before the elections of 16 March because he had concealed a relationship with an employee of the municipality. Last week he announced that he did not want to stand in the way of a new coalition and had therefore decided with pain in his heart to waive a renewed councilorship.
Also read: Concealed relationship: no new term for alderman Horst
The conclusion of the investigation into the issue of the relationship with the civil servant is painfully slow in coming, says Tegels. While the coalition negotiations call for clarity. The move by Tegels was the direct reason for the CDA to reflect on its alderman candidate.
New coalition
In Horst aan de Maas, a new coalition is being formed under the leadership of independent informateur professor Theo Camps. Just like the previous term of office, this should consist of CDA, Essentie, D66/GroenLinks and the PvdA. That is good for 20 of the 27 seats in the city council.
However, the CDA apparently has to hand in an alderman’s post. The party remained the largest in the elections, but dropped from 10 to 7 seats. Essence and D66/GroenLinks retained their 5 and 4 seats respectively. The PvdA was the only coalition party to win, doubling from 2 to 4 seats.