After the departure of the then mayor Van der Tas, Rob Bats was acting mayor of Steenwijkerland for a year. On September 14, 2017, he was appointed mayor of Steenwijkerland. That means his first six-year term of office ends in September. The protocol is then that the municipal council makes a recommendation on a possible reappointment. In the past period, this was prepared by a confidential committee of the nine party chairmen of the parties in the council.
