She began her political career as municipal councilor and alderwoman in Groningen (1978–1994), until she joined the first Kok cabinet (1994–1998) as State Secretary for the Interior.
[2][3] She was appointed alderwoman for education, culture, and emancipation in April 1986, and she defended the construction of the new post-modernist building of the Groninger Museum, located in a canal next to the city's railway station.
[2][5] During her tenure, the Groningen Credit Bank, the municipal debt assistance office, incurred losses of ƒ60 million because of bad investments.
Two aldermen directly responsible left the executive in 1992, while Van de Vondervoort received support from all coalition parties to stay on, in order to prevent a governance crisis.
[5] Van de Vondervoort sat on several Labour party expert committees on finances and on local and regional governance.
[3] She was sworn in as State Secretary for the Interior as part of the first Kok cabinet on 22 August 1994, serving alongside Jacob Kohnstamm of Democrats 66.
[2][8] Van de Vondervoort stepped down from the provincial executive shortly before the end of her term in April 2011, when she was appointed acting mayor of Sliedrecht by Queen's commissioner Jan Franssen.