The matter in summary: Nesna municipality has decided to invest in a new mayor’s chain for NOK 150,000. Some residents believe that the money could have been better spent, given the municipality’s strained finances. Goldsmith and mayor’s chain specialist Truls Grønvold says that a mayor’s chain can be a nice symbol, but that it is not a “must”. The mayor of Narvik, Rune Edvardsen, uses a necklace made by children in a nursery school, and believes it is just as useful as an expensive piece of jewellery. On Thursday 17 January 2008, news viewers were presented with the Ut i vår hage episode “Ikke i rute”. There we got to see the fictitious northern line Oddbjørn Bunes, who had lost the dialect melody. A northerner’s greatest fear. What had happened? Mayor Aslak Grødum’s “chain complexes” had led to the dialect fee not being paid. The money was instead used for a new mayor’s chain. Ødøy municipality got the dialect melody back, but mayor Aslak Grødum had to give up municipal autonomy. Photo: Ut i vår hage / news Nesna’s population is unlikely to suffer the same fate as those in Ødøy. They are also invited, by the municipality itself, to give opinions on what the mayor’s chain should contain. On Facebook, however, people seem to be concerned about the use of money: – The best symbol for idiotic financial decisions is the hammer and sickle. So that may be my suggestion, writes one person. news has been in contact with John Brattli at Nesna. On Facebook, he wondered what the necklace cost – he now knows. – My private opinion is that I think the mayor’s necklace we have today is much more special and more valuable than any other in clear enamel. – Does that mean they could have saved the money? – Yes, you can count on that. Watch the entire Out in our garden episode here: That’s why Roar Wang hates Oslo, the mayor’s chain complexes and the Oslosen border bus. “Knot chain” Mayor Grødum’s complexes are rooted in the fact that he has a small “knot chain”. – I really wanted a new mayor’s necklace. I thought it would benefit my municipality in the long term, Grødum told the municipal minister. Aslak Grødum struggles to make difficult decisions in Ødøy municipality. The blame is placed on … the chain of mayors. Photo: news Nesna municipality is, in contrast to Ødøy, a real municipality in Nordland. But like Ødøy, they have a chain of mayors they are not happy with. It was created by the municipality’s former councilor Torbjørn Bendiksen. – He was very good with wood, and it is a great mayor’s chain. But it is old and has not been used for a long time, says Hanne Davidsen. – It’s a bit easy. A mayor’s chain should have some weight, both literally and symbolically, says mayor Hanne Davidsen. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news The mayor points out that the old, light mayor’s necklace does not have any symbols representing Nesna either. A unanimous municipal council has therefore decided that it will now invest in a new, and hopefully heavy, chain of mayors. Is it right to spend NOK 150,000 on a new mayor’s chain in a pressured municipal economy? – Of course you can question that. We have squeezed finances. We have more consumption than income, answers Mayor Hanne Davidsen. Nesna’s finances were further squeezed when Nord University decided in 2019 to close the department there. The decision was later reversed and the campus lives on. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news She says the municipality’s biggest goal is to get the economy in balance. – In that context, you can say that this is perhaps not the most important thing. Average price NOK 150,000 Atle Antonsen, who plays mayor Grødum in Out in our garden, portrays a character who lets himself be tempted by good offers from mayor chain experts. Tailor-made campaigns convince Grødum that a large mayoral chain will help him in his demanding job. The special offer of NOK 210,000 for a mayor’s necklace is not far from reality. Photo: Ut i vår hage / news Goldsmith and true mayor’s chain specialist, Truls Grønvold, has approximately 25 chains on his conscience. He says Atle Antonsen’s portrayal of a mayor with chain complexes is very good. The chain expert’s involvement started 10 years ago. Where? In Nordland. Gildeskål municipality was Truls Grønvold’s first customer as mayor’s necklace maker. Photo: TG Design – What is the average price of the chains you make, and why are they so expensive? – The average price is around NOK 150,000, as Nesna describes. Sometimes it will be a little cheaper, other times a little more expensive. It depends on which metals are used, and whether they should contain any gold, Grønvold replies. – Is a great chain of mayors important for running a municipality? – I think it’s a nice symbolism. In most contexts it is used to highlight the mayor. An old tradition, but not a “must”. – A large chain of mayors is not about my vanity. It’s about me doing a better job with a bigger chain, said the fictitious mayor Dag Inge Risnes. Photo: news Mayor without necklace was saved by children Grønvold emphasizes that it is especially nice to have a mayor’s necklace if the mayor is going to meet royalty. – It’s a bit strange to come as the only mayor without a chain. In 2014, the crown prince couple visited Steigen in Nordland. The mayor at the time, Asle Schrøder, had to repair the mayor’s chain with a paper clip. Photo: Bjørn Erik Rygg Lunde / news But if the municipality can’t afford it, is there an alternative to expensive handmade jewellery? We find the answer to that in Nordland. – On 1 January 2020, Narvik was merged with Ballangen and half of Tysfjord, says Rune Edvardsen. He is mayor of the new, large municipality of Narvik. – Ergo, the old mayor’s chains were out of date. With so much freshly beautiful mayorship, did Edvardsen perhaps need a new, heavy and expensive mayor’s chain? No, then. Rune Edvardsen in Narvik proudly wears the mayor’s necklace he received for free from children in Skistua kindergarten. Photo: Andreas Nilsen Trygstad / news – The children in Skistua kindergarten felt sorry for the mayor who did not have a piece of jewelry. Since that day, I have used this in all contexts, he says to news. Even when he has met royalty he has used the kindergarten variety. – It does exactly the same as a new, expensive, large piece of jewellery. – Are there financial reasons why you choose this variant? – No, not really. It is the charm and story behind the piece of jewelery that makes me have it. Don’t want ROBEK in exchange for a mayor’s chain There are therefore cheap alternatives that can be useful. For Aslak Grødum in Ødøy municipality, however, the pressure was too great. He had to have a new mayor chain. – Dear Northern Norwegian friends. It has now been decided that Ødøy municipality will be placed under administration in exchange for something, he said. The municipal minister and the administration took over the board of Ødøy municipality. Self-government was, according to Grødum, just government anyway. Photo: news Back to Nesna. Are they willing to exchange municipal autonomy for a new chain of mayors? – No. We are not, answers Hanne Davidsen and laughs. She also emphasizes that it was a unanimous municipal decision that decided this – and that she relates to it. Most mayors adorn themselves with a mayor’s necklace when they visit royalty. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news – What do you think of the solution for Edvardsen in Narvik? – It sounds like an exciting proposal. I have to get into it. Now Nesna is starting the process around the new mayor’s necklace and the citizens are invited to come up with suggestions for decoration. – Is it important for a municipality to have a great chain of mayors in order to govern well? – No, it is not important for running a municipality. It is a symbol of who and what the municipality is. When we now think of creating a new chain of mayors, it should last for several generations of mayors after me, Davidsen replies and concludes: – We have had a discussion about whether we should be our own municipality, and a chain of mayors is perhaps a symbol that we is exactly that. In that sense, it is important.
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Spends NOK 150,000 – news Nordland
