DWARS through Overijssel: Deventer

Deventer celebrates holidays

GroenLinks Deventer's first year in the coalition is over. It was a year with many experiences. On 21 March 2018, we won two more seats and with 5 seats, we are now one of the larger parties in the Deventer city council. With 2 (just) fifty-somethings (Lida Zegel and yours truly) , 2 thirty-somethings (Anne van der Meer and Halla Baher) and one twenty-something (Koen Boswinkel), the group is one of the younger groups in Deventer. After 8 years fighting from the opposition for the ideals for a greener, fairer and open Deventer, we have been in the coalition with Gemeentebelang, PvdA, D66 and CDA since July 2018. The first year in any marriage is of course scanning and getting used to. We are now reasonably used to it and we are going into the second year full of energy to achieve results.

In the general reflection on the 2020 Spring Memorandum, I said that I am immensely proud to be the voice of GroenLinks as a representative of the people and turn it into results. Those results are very often very visible; the Deventer sheep flock for ecological roadside management, free “join-the-pipe’ drinking water, ambitious charging station policy, the poison-free weed control, a car-free Grote Kerkhof or the art catalogue are just a few examples and all have been a direct result of political actions by GroenLinks. Deventer is a beautiful city to walk or cycle in and then when you come across the results during your trip it makes you incredibly happy. Deventer is an incredibly cool city for young people. I experienced this myself (okay it's a while back, early 90s of a century before......) because as an environmental science student I started here and enjoyed the nice cafes and events with always a relaxed atmosphere. And if you were broke you went to recover (now: chill) by the river IJssel even back then. But Deventer can do a lot more for young people. That's why we recently tabled a motion in the Spring Memorandum to include events specifically for young people in event programming. In the coalition negotiations, starting a Youth Council was negotiated out (will start in 2020) and we also managed to get funding for a professional skate and BMX park. So with our group, we are definitely betting on young people!

During the recess, I am kicking off the political circus. Instead of being at the town hall or in town almost every night for a meeting, I am now at home almost every night. My family is happy about it. Not least my dog Jambo (PHOTO) who now gets extra attention with a long walk every evening. During those walks, I am always thinking about how we can make Deventer even greener, fairer and more social. I wish everyone a very happy summer time!

Tjeerd van der Meulen
Group chairman GroenLinks Deventer