A very special goodbye was waiting for some departing councilors from Borger-Odoorn and Coevorden tonight. They received a royal decoration for their work in municipal politics, and were awarded a ribbon.
In Borger-Odoorn there were two councilors with a royal decoration. It concerns Henk Zwiep (PvdA) and Erik Huizing (VVD). The social democrat has been a member of the municipal council since 2006, and has been party leader for a number of years. His fellow municipal councilor Huizing also became party chairman, immediately after he came on the council in 2010.
In Coevorden ribbon for Ferry Booij
In Coevorden, the outgoing councilor Ferry Booij from BBC2014 was the one who was appointed Member of the Order of Orange-Nassau. He has been around as a politician for some time, first in the municipalities of Gasselte and Stadskanaal. He was also an alderman in the latter municipality. After moving to Aalden, he became active for BBC2014, which became the largest party in the recent municipal elections.
Mayor Renze Bergsma stated that Booij brought calm, sobriety and stability to the council. Booij himself was surprised, especially when his family took a seat in the public gallery earlier in the evening. “I’m starting to sniff a bit. When I saw my friends and family walk into the room, it already did something to me. I always thought those ribbons were nonsense, but now I don’t have one myself anymore, of course. I wish the new council much wisdom and success with the coming term of office.”
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