Lieke Schuitmaker will be the new mayor of the municipality of Alphen-Chaam. The 46-year-old Schuitmaker is currently an alderman in the municipality of Drimmelen, but the city council of Alphen-Chaam nominated her as the new mayor on Monday evening. That happened on her 46th birthday.
Jan Brenninkmeijer has been an observer in Alphen-Chaam since the beginning of this year, as the successor of Joeri Minses who left for Heumen in Gelderland.
European experience
Lieke Schuitmaker lives in Hooge Zwaluwe with her husband and two children. She has been an alderman since November 2018 and the first deputy mayor since May. As alderman she is responsible for construction, housing, spatial planning and recreation and tourism. In August, for example, she was asked to make plans for the future of De Biesbosch National Park. Before starting work in Drimmelen, she worked at the European Commission and the European Parliament. She studied European Studies at the University of Amsterdam.
In her letter of application she made clear what she wants and that she already has a good idea of her new area of work: “I want to be a mayor who stands among the inhabitants, involves people to make the villages more beautiful together, to put their shoulders to the wheel. A mayor who is committed to ensuring that everyone can participate and matter.”
“I want to talk to people, learn from them, along the line at the sports clubs, at the bakery in Alphen, the library in Chaam, at the senior bingo at the KBO or on the terrace of the Smokkelaartje. Connecting, watching a little better together can, and pick it up, where everyone contributes.”
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