A complete changing of the guard in Coevorden: the municipality will receive four new aldermen. Wouter Bloemberg (BBC2014), Herjan Kerkdijk (BBC2014), Sandra Katerberg (CDA) and Irma Talens (VVD) have been nominated as new aldermen of the municipality of Coevorden.
The municipality says that an ‘intensive joint evaluation’ has shown that there is enough confidence and ambition to form a three-party coalition.
Coevorder politics have been turbulent in recent months. Just before the municipal elections, BBC2014 councilors Steven Stegen and Erik Holties come under fire. They have a large article published about, among other things, housing construction in the Netherlands Coevorder Courant.
The article was paid for with public money, without coordination with the council and the mayor and aldermen. The two councilors will resign at the end of March. The tasks of the resigned aldermen are divided among the remaining members of the council.
Councilor Jeroen Huizing (CDA) announced in November last year that he did not want to continue as councilor. Councilor Joop Slomp (PvdA) and his party are no longer part of the coalition.
43-year-old Wouter Bloemberg (BBC2014) has been a member of the Coevorden municipal council since this year. He lives in Erm, is a self-employed entrepreneur and works as an interim manager in the public sector.
35-year-old Herjan Kerkdijk (BBC2014) grew up in Sleen and works as a senior policy advisor at the Ministry of Defense.
Sandra Katerberg (CDA) from Diphoorn has been group leader of the CDA in Coevorden for the past eight years. The 51-year-old works as an interim school leader in primary education for Fiers Coevorden.
Coevordense Irma Talens (VVD) is an independent entrepreneur in, among other things, the tourism sector, catering, retail and transformation of city centers. She has been a member of the Coevorden municipal council since 2022.
On June 30, the aldermen will be installed as aldermen after approval by the council.
