Erica van Lente will be the new mayor of the municipality of Midden-Groningen. She succeeds Adriaan Hoogendoorn. He announced in September that he would step down as mayor.
After a closed council meeting (this is customary for an appointment), the municipal council nominated Van Lente as mayoral candidate. There were a total of fourteen applications for the position.
Who is Van Lente?
Van Lente (44) is currently mayor of Dalfsen (Overijssel), but is well known in Groningen. From 2010 to 2014, she was a municipal councilor and faction leader in the municipality of Groningen on behalf of the PvdA. She then served as acting mayor of Bedum for several years.
The confidential committee that announced the nomination calls Van Lente ‘energetic and decisive’ in a press release. “She is ambitious, brings new impetus and can mean a lot to Central Groningen in the further development of the municipality.”
Hoogendoorn
In 2018, Hoogendoorn (Christian Union) became the first mayor of the merged municipality of Midden-Groningen. For him, the key points were safety and the handling of earthquake damage.
Hoogendoorn (65) will retire in July. After fifty years of work, including thirteen years as mayor, he thinks it’s enough. “I have concluded that it is time to put an end to it.”
Profile sketch
In a profile sketch, the municipality asked for an ‘experienced director’. The new mayor will have to deal with major problems in Hoogezand. Moreover, there are the billions of Nij Begun. The new mayor must ensure that Central Groningen benefits from this.
