He is a mayor you still know from the past. Complete with tie and neat suit. Yet Hans Ubachs (62) is anything but boring and old-fashioned. The mayor of Best likes to be in the middle of the community. He is preparing for his second term, which starts in just over two months.
“I am very pleased that the city council has agreed to another six years of Hans Ubachs as mayor of Best,” he grins. “It would also be strange if this were not the case. After all, I myself indicated that I would like to be considered for a second term here. Being mayor is really my thing and I think it is the best job in the world.”
Energy
Especially in an interesting municipality like Best, Ubachs is quick to say. “The contact with the residents and being there for other people, that really appeals to me. In joy and sorrow. I was just visiting a couple who have been married for sixty years, but recently I also had to visit someone who had lost a loved one in a traffic accident. But the administrative matters also give me energy. Think of enforcement. I think it is important that everyone is treated equally.”
When asked whether he had any doubts about whether the city council wanted to continue with him, Ubachs responded wittily. “You can never be sure, but if something had happened in recent years that had caused the council to have doubts, I would have known about it. And we also consult with each other regularly. If there were matters that I had not dealt with sufficiently or properly, I would have been called to account for them long ago. To some extent, you have that in your own hands.”
What Ubachs could not do anything about were the eye problems he had to deal with. “A discussion could easily have arisen in which the question was asked whether the mayor could still function if he sees much less than before,” Ubachs admits. “But I have to say that, certainly with the committee, that did not play a role at all. I had pleasant conversations about this with two members. They literally said: ‘If we think that plays a role, we will tell you, but then that has to do with your functioning, and not because you have it’.”
Annoying
The comparison with a fellow mayor, Marcel Oosterveer of the municipality of Waalre, does not apply as far as Ubachs is concerned. “He was already almost blind when he was hired. My eyesight has deteriorated during my mayoralty. It is sometimes annoying, especially because I can no longer do everything independently. Think of driving a car or following a presentation by a colleague in a ‘normal’ way. However, I can use a few technical gadgets, such as a high-contrast screen. And the lighting in my office is also adjusted.”
Ubachs considers himself lucky that his environment also deals very well with his reduced vision. “Then I hear from the municipal council: ‘Mayor, if you think you should call a taxi, then just do it’. And I also regularly go to regional meetings with my colleague from Oirschot. Then she just comes to pick me up. You know, within the municipal boundaries I still do as much as possible by bike. Then I can set my own pace. And I now know where those ‘nauseous’ posts are. Haha!”
Merger
Normally, Ubachs will be sworn in again in December. Will he then retire as mayor of Best or of the merged municipality of Best-Oirschot? “There is no doubt about that. If there is one municipality before the end of that period, then there will be a new mayor. And that is not me. I am 68 years old at the end of my second term. Perhaps I will go down in history as the last mayor of Best. That is what I do it for!”
Source: Studio040
For Eindhoven News: Lila Mehrez
