Last three aldermen in Tiel also step down, to no longer be exposed to 'accusations'

The aldermen of Tiel, Frank Groen and Carla Kreuk-Wildeman of the Party of the Burgers, and Remco Dijkstra of the VVD, have resigned from their positions. The resignations were announced during a council meeting on Wednesday evening, as reported by De Gelderlander.

These departures come in the wake of a confidential report submitted to the province of Gelderland by former mayor Frank van der Meijden after his departure last March. In the report, Van der Meijden claimed his efforts to combat crime and undermining activities led him to identify aldermen potentially involved in criminal and administrative law cases, though he did not name them.

Previously, aldermen Dave Verbeek and Jur Marringa (GroenLinks-PvdA) had declared their innocence and demanded an independent investigation. They stated that fellow aldermen Groen, Kreuk-Wildeman, and Dijkstra, along with acting mayor José van Egmond, had not cooperated with this demand. This led Verbeek and Marringa to step down Wednesday morning.

Wim de Boer, faction leader for the Party of the Burgers, explained that the remaining three aldermen are unable to counter rumors and accusations due to the "confidentiality of their work," describing the situation as "an unsafe working environment for our aldermen." The VVD also stated they no longer wish to "expose alderman and party member Dijkstra to accusations."

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an unsafe working environment for our aldermen