An IT specialist, a municipal official in the mayor’s office, a retired director in the speaker’s office, a former MP and an entrepreneur have emerged as some of the new faces the DA is putting forward as ward councillors in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The full list of ward candidates was announced by DA provincial chair Andrew Whitfield and the party’s Bay campaign manager, Retief Odendaal, on Tuesday.
Director in the office of the mayor Roelf Basson has emerged as the Ward 51 candidate while a former director in the speaker’s office, Nimrod Mqulwana, will contest in Ward 41.
Terri Stander, who was a DA MP from 2014 to 2019, has put her hand up for Ward 5.
Linkside High systems manager Vernon Boggenpoel will be the face of Ward 12 for the party.
Graham Gelderbloem, a businessman in property and car dealerships, is looking to secure a win in Ward 11.
The party will contest all 60 wards and believes it will secure an outright majority at the municipal polls on November 1, according to Whitfield.
He said the party had spent a year on the candidate selection process and was confident it had made the right choices.
“It is a capable, fit-for-purpose, diverse and experienced team of ward candidates who will fight for the residents in their wards,” he said.
Whitfield said in the 2016 local government elections almost 47% of the voters in the Bay had opted for the DA.
This, he said, was just 12,000 votes short of a majority in the council.
“Five years of uninterrupted service delivery under a DA majority government can ensure a stable and prosperous metro where services are delivered, corruption is rooted out, the economy grows and jobs are created,” he said.
Whitfield said it was all systems go for the DA's campaign and the candidates would bring the skills needed to take the Bay forward.
Odendaal said the party had an innovative campaign through social media.
“We can reach out to thousands of potential voters on a weekly basis,” he said.
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