The new college of B&W introduces itself

'Reducing the distance between citizens and politics'
 

Passport René van Drunen

Political party: PvdA
Born on: May 5, 1959
Lives in: Terwinselen
Portfolio: Youth care and youth policy, Public health, Sustainability, Waste and environment.
Experience: After high school, I trained as a physical therapist. I then owned a fitness center for five years. Then I joined the pension fund ABP and the insurance company Loyalis. Since the end of May this year, I have been an Alderman.

Which person would you still like to meet and why?
I have no persons I look up to outside of my family. If it were possible, I would like to meet my late grandfather. He always worked hard in the mines and went through a lot during the war. Although he had nothing to do with politics, I think he was a convinced social democrat.

What achievement are you most proud of ?
I don't think so much about accomplishments, but I am very proud of my wife and children and the rest of the family.

What do the people of Kerkrade not yet know about you?
That I come from a judo family. My father Bart van Drunen was a well-known judo teacher in Kerkrade in the 70s, 80s and 90s and was the owner of Sportcentrum van Drunen. I myself have been Dutch school judo champion and also national champion with our youth team.

What were the first two months as Alderman like?
I had to get very used to it. Especially to the large number of appointments we have every day. You are really lived then. I have a lot of respect for the officials who support me as Alderman . I am very aware of the fact that I stepped into a well-oiled machine and that my position is temporary. You have to keep that temporariness in mind, which is why as Alderman you are by no means the most important person in the organization.
 

What can citizens expect from you? What will you stand up for in the coming years?
An important theme is climate change and how we should deal with it. I think it is very important for our children and grandchildren that we make our city more sustainable. This is a task that applies to all of us, so the plans we make for this must be supported by the residents. We want to involve everyone as much as possible. It is also important to give our young people a role in our decision making. They are the future.

In the context of youth care, I am thinking of using preventive measures to prevent problems and strengthen the self-reliance of families. In this way, the burden on youth care will hopefully be reduced. In addition to these heavy topics, I also want to work on providing meeting places and recreational opportunities for young people, such as chill spots and perhaps a music venue.

I think it is important to reduce the distance between politics and citizens. One way to do that is by giving people confidence and working with a human scale in policy and implementation as much as possible. We are already doing that, for example, with the recent approval of insulation loans for homeowners. We have tried to remove as many barriers as possible. I would like to implement this in all my portfolios.
 

What drove you to become politically active?
I have always been a social democrat with a preference for the Labor Party. That preference came from the feeling of standing by the worker against great powers like the government and in earlier times the church and big employers. I grew up during the time when the mines closed. I saw what the region's dependence on one big labor provider does to people. The misery that followed the mine closures in the social and economic spheres lingered on for a very long time. That drove me to make the step to politics after my working life. For me, politics is a means to achieve something for people and to be able to help people.