VVD politician Johan Scheltens (52) from Schoonebeek stops after twelve years as a councilor in the municipality of Emmen. He was party chairman for ten years and a regular councilor for the last two years. “I think twelve years is a good period. It is customary for the VVD to be a councilor for three periods. I also clearly indicated in 2018 that it would be my last period as a councilor,” says Scheltens in the Radio Drenthe program. cassata. “I have done it with great pleasure for twelve years, but it is time for the next step in my career. It is good to innovate and give new impetus a chance.”
“It also has to do with corona, especially digital meetings. I am a man of the debate and that is a lot more difficult behind a screen. Two weeks ago we had a physical committee meeting for the first time and there was immediately debate again. I am now working towards the last council meeting and then it has been great.”
Scheltens ended up in politics twelve years ago. “I was already asked in 2006, but then my father was still a VVD councilor and he was on the electoral list again, so I rejected that. I didn’t want to be on the list with my father. In 2010 I was forty. And I said goodbye to a club called Round Table. One of the goals of that club is that you serve the community. And I’ve always been taught that from home. And in politics you also serve the community. So it was a natural moment.”
When Scheltens came into the council in 2010, the VVD was still a coalition party. The party has been in opposition for the past eight years. “The big difference is that you don’t rule. You have less to say and that is a shame. The decisions about Wildlands and the center development in 2011 were taken when we were still in the coalition. I was very much behind that. Still. It is a development that is very good for Emmen.”
Finance
“My background has traditionally been agricultural, especially economics and finance,” says Scheltens. “I have always been a spokesperson for that. And I especially thought budget discussions and framework notes were the best things to do. Not really subjects that bring you into frequent contact with citizens. associations have had a lot of contact with people.”
Twelve years ago he immediately became party chairman when he came to the city council.” That was fairly easy. We had eight people on the list and got four seats. One of the people on the list became an alderman in Hoogeveen. One became an alderman in Emmen and I joined the council with three other people who came fresh into the council. And they pointed to me as number two on the list. That’s how it came to be”
Economize
Emmen had to cut back a lot in recent years. Scheltens blames the central government for all kinds of tasks that municipalities are unable to handle. “They are also abstract tasks such as youth care and the social domain and they require a great deal of specialist knowledge. And whether that is well invested in the municipality? As a municipal council, we have little influence on this, because municipalities will make joint arrangements.”
There will be a little more space in the coming years, according to Scheltens. “Then Emmen has to get to work on two new sports parks in Nieuw-Amsterdam and in Emmer-Compascuum. And there will be a new community center in Angelso. We hope that similar developments can take place in other places in the municipality.
The desired development by third parties of the Rensenpark is not getting off the ground, says Scheltens. “The entire city council now agrees that the vision of the park should be reconsidered. What do we want with the area and what will it cost? can take place.”