Mayor Rikus Jager Steps Down After 14 Years in Local Politics: A Retrospective on His Career and Legacy

Anyone who knows Mayor Jager knows that his workday never ends. You may still get a reply to your email or text at half past three in the morning because the mayor works 24/7 and has actually done so since 1990. that’s going to be a problem soon, yes,” he says with a laugh. “It’s not really possible to dismantle him as mayor.”

Around the age of sixty he found that many jobs were becoming difficult. That was in 2014. “Then I had a heart attack and it seems very strange, but after that I felt 10 years younger. I stopped smoking and switched to oranges and pears. Yes I’m lucky to be alive.”

Jager entered local politics after the defeat of his party, CDA, in the national elections. He lost his place in the House of Representatives and started looking around. “I would probably move on to the House again during the year, but in the meantime the mayor’s position came up. That seemed like something to me,” he says.

He liked it so much that he never returned to The Hague. “After that I sometimes think: I wish I had done it earlier because I really enjoyed governing and being mayor. Then maybe I made one or two cities as a continuation of Westerveld.”

Before taking a political path, Jager worked for 30 years at the Public Prosecution Service in North Holland. An area from which he profited several times later in his career. “As a mayor, legal knowledge is almost essential for emergency situations. A surprising number of functions were added, including greater powers in public order and safety and detention. ” So he says that future mayors must meet this requirement to hold office. Now anyone can be mayor.

Jager will also experience the profession from the other side in his final year. After the decision to shoot a wolf in Wapse, he and others involved are being investigated. Something he thinks will continue after he becomes mayor. “Suddenly, because you’ve done your job, you’re on the other side of the line. That doesn’t feel pleasant,” he said. “I can’t say more about it because the investigation is still going on, but it’s definitely painful.

It’s no secret that Jager is also a ‘straight’ flesh and blood man. He had sleepless nights on some of the files. For example, he looks back on the closing of the fire station in Diever, where emotions ran so high that five hundred people gathered in front of the town hall with fire trucks and all anything

There was also an uproar about the closing of the Dingspilhuus, which did not bother him. “Actually as a result of not making decisions for too long, just like at the fire station. “

What Jager looks back on with the greatest pride are the times he was able to bring people together. From the introduction of the croquette and now bitters afterwards at the town councils, so that people can ‘talk casually to each other’ afterwards, to the New Year’s party which attracts many people from different positions every year.

“And what do you think of the flag in front of the town hall?” Jager said. “It didn’t exist yet when I started. It was just a weapon. With this we also bring different aspects of the city together. I have been the mayor of every city small, not only at Dwingeloo.”

But there is still plenty to do for the new mayor. Jager points to the UNESCO area. He is proud of the status that has been fighting for more than 18 years. But agriculture is under pressure, he says. “This is the first area in Europe where agriculture is protected because of the old agricultural colony. But people must be aware that an essential part is missing without agriculture and the proven routes on the fields. “

The director is also not sure about producing gas in the area. He has been advocating for a damage fund for years in case things go wrong so no one is left out in the cold and he hopes one day it will be available for his mayoral district.

Jouke Spoelstra (CDA) will take over from Jager in mid-May. A hunter will still be found in the area. In addition to Klaverjas, he works at Stichting Urgente Noden in the north of the Netherlands, the Hunehuis in Havelte and Groningen Orgelland, among others.