Mayor of Weert DWARSe politician of the year

DWARS, GroenLinkse youth has named Weert mayor Jos Heijmans (D66) as most DWARSe Politician of the Year at its Autumn Congress in Breda. Heijmans was in the news earlier this year for offering accommodation to asylum seekers who had exhausted all legal remedies in his municipality. DWARS presents this award annually to a politician who continued to stand for the good cause against the current.

Chairman Noortje Blokhuis explains this choice. "Politicians can have a lot of values and say a lot, but they can also lead by example. Jos Heijmans did the latter by giving shelter to asylum seekers who had been shown the door." Blokhuis continued: "The choice to accommodate asylum seekers who have exhausted all legal remedies is not a foregone conclusion. In doing so, the mayor took political and personal risks. That he then chose to help these war refugees after all pleads enormously for him. There should be more politicians like Heijmans."

The mayor gladly accepted the award. "I am extremely proud of this award and would like to dedicate it to the many volunteers around this family", Heijmans said at the conference.