Reinert Kverneland to step down as Mayor of Time

In various elections, he became the most popular politician in Jæren. Reinert Kverneland (H) has now applied for exemption for all political offices until the end of the term.

The mayor himself stated this today, Tuesday, right after the presidential meeting, where important issues like the Jæren emergency room and the Kalberg data center were on the map.

– I do this in consultation with my doctor, said the mayor.

She would have preferred that everything had been quiet, but she thought it was okay to come up with something now.

I was super prepared in 4 new years

After last year’s election, where he gained renewed confidence, he was super-ready for four new years, with a job that lasts 24 hours a day.

It was pointed out that he, as one of the richest mayors in the country, could have had a much quieter life:

– I thrive with people and with work. It is good to be part of and influence the development of Time through good work. I have no vested interests. I do not have children. I’m only interested in society. We also believe that we have a good political environment. The first congratulations also came from my biggest rival, Bjarne Undheim in Sp, Reinert Kverneland told Aftenbladet the day after the election and after a night when he thought he had only slept for half an hour, in his chair at home, before to go back to the office. Bryne.

He only had to watch all the television broadcasts when he got home at two in the afternoon.

– But I also do that when there are elections in both Finland and Germany. He’s a numbers and politics nerd, he added.

Social Rapporteur

During all these years, Kverneland has been mayor in the same way that he was a merchant in Kvernaland: with time for the people, even when he is busy and going to a meeting.

He has represented the municipality in all kinds of events from morning to night. It is also clear that it is developing more and more in the role of rope cutter. Before, he was known as someone who liked himself better in the back room and who simply smiled warmly as parties got high on their candidates. And he liked it more among the people than on the podium, it was the impression.

Entered from last place on list

For that reason, he rushed directly to the municipal council, with only 24 years, from the last place on the list. He left politics after 16 years and during this period he managed to make the Conservatives the largest party in the former Labor stronghold Kvernaland.

He returned to the 2007 elections, lost the direct mayoral election at the finish line to then-mayor Arnfinn Vigrestad (KrF), but he also became the politician who got the most slingshot votes, either as a cross on his own. Conservative lists or other voters’ slingshots.

He was now in his third term as mayor.

Press conference

The new decision was announced at a press conference that Councilor Trygve Apeland quickly requested, without mentioning any issues. The decision was not known in the political sphere.

At the same time, this press release was published:

“The Mayor of Time, Reinert Kverneland, is requesting an exemption from both the position of mayor and the other political positions he holds in the municipality of Time.

Kverneland has been our mayor at Time since 2011 and is in his third term. There are health reasons why you are now requesting exemption from all political offices:

– It has been a great honor and a privilege to be Mayor of Time, and I want to thank the citizens for the trust they have given me. Now my health situation is such that I can no longer put aside the effort that a mayor requires, and then it is better for me and for the municipality that I step aside. This has been a difficult decision, and not something I have taken lightly, he says.

Long term in local politics

Reinert Kverneland first joined the city council in 1975 and can look back on a long involvement in local politics. In addition to being our mayor for nine years, he has also served several terms as deputy mayor.

– Throughout all these years I have worked together with elected representatives of various parties and I want to thank everyone for their good cooperation. Although we disagree on political issues, there has always been a good political culture at Time, he says.

Reinert Kverneland has been known as a calm and down-to-earth mayor, and during his nine years as mayor we have been involved in many important issues:

– I think we have done very well in recent years, and it is difficult to single out a single topic as more important than others. Among other things, we have created great parks in both downtown Bryne and Stemmen in Kverneland, and I am very happy to have gotten the new upper secondary school in Bryne. In teams with good partners, we have installed the Midtgardsormen bridge over Frøylandsvatnet, in Lye we got a great new sports facility a few years ago, and in Undheim, among other things, we have improved the center and expanded the cemetery. These are some of the good cases that we have overcome, but I could mention many others as well, he emphasizes.

As mayor, Kverneland is also one of the elected representatives who has worked most closely with the municipality’s administration. You are satisfied with how this collaboration has worked:

– In my time as mayor, I have collaborated with two councilors and many employees trained in the municipal organization. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the employees of the municipality for the work they do, especially in the challenges we face at this time. “I really appreciate the cooperation we’ve had,” he says.

The exemption request will be considered by the municipal council at its meeting on September 15. If the city council approves the request, then they will elect a new mayor at the same meeting. “