In three weeks it will be announced who the new Mayor of Nuenen will be. Then the nomination of the successor of acting Mayor Madeleine van Toorenburg will take place. She has replaced Maarten Houben since last year, who was not granted a third term by the municipal council.
Houben was Mayor of Nuenen for almost twelve years, but in September 2023 he was told that a majority of the municipal council did not want to continue with him. During his term of office, Houben came under fire several times. For example, there were suspicions of fraud with land purchases by the town hall, he regularly clashed with the municipal council and Nuenen, at the insistence of the province, was threatened with being added to Eindhoven.
Acting
After Houben’s departure, Van Toorenburg was appointed acting Mayor. She has no ambition to stay in Nuenen any longer. “I live in Rosmalen and don’t want to leave at all. Then I can’t become mayor here, because then I have to move. That is not an option. I am only in Nuenen temporarily”.
Incidentally, Van Toorenburg will remain a member of Senate on behalf of CDA (Christian democrats). She has combined that position with the Mayorship of Nuenen for the past year and a half. Her successor was chosen from a group of 23 applicants. The man or woman who eventually becomes mayor will start his or her new job in September.
Procedure
The King’s Commissioner Ina Adema consults with the municipal council’s confidential committee about the candidates. After this conversation, the final selection is determined. The confidential committee conducts job interviews with these candidates. Subsequently, advice is given to the municipal council, in which two candidates are nominated.
The municipal council discusses the advice and chooses the – in its opinion – best candidate. This recommendation is sent to the Minister of the Interior (Binnenlandse Zaken), after which a nomination follows to King Willem-Alexander. Ultimately, it is the Crown that appoints the Mayor ‘by Royal Decree’.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
