Hill-Lewis eyes second term as Cape Town mayor

CAPE Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, who has been touted as a potential candidate to replace DA leader John Steenhuisen, has hinted at running for a second term as mayor.

However he was not among newly announced DA mayoral candidates for eight municipalities in the province on Thursday.

The party kicked off its election campaign with the announcement of its first tranche of mayoral candidates for the Western Cape.

The mayoral candidates are: Beaufort West: Gina Duimpies; Cape Winelands District: Antoinette Steyn; Central Karoo District: October Haarvoor; Hessequa: Gerald Boezak; Kannaland: Joslyn Johnson, Knysna: Levael Davis; Laingsburg: Aletta Theron and Overberg District: Dr Annelie Rabie.

The party is still busy with interviews for the Cape Town mayor position, though Hill-Lewis posted on social media that he remains "committed to stand for a second term as the mayor of Cape Town".

“It is the DA’s biggest government and our strongest platform as we head into the local elections,” Hill-Lewis said.

During Thursday’s announcement, DA Federal Chairperson Ivan Meyer was joined by Steenhuisen, DA Western Cape Leader Tertuis Simmers, and DA Western Cape Chairperson Jaco Londt.

Simmers said that the rest of the candidates will be announced in three batches until the end of March, with the Cape Town’s mayoral candidate having its own announcement.

About the announced candidates, Meyer said: “They will go out to listen with empathy and make an emotional connection with the residents. They will not only speak to DA voters but to all residents in their towns. We do this because we want to listen to all the citizens, especially those with opposing views.”

Meyer said the process began in March last year, where, throughout the first phase of the selection process, the candidates were given a real-life scenario affecting their municipality, and they had to present their solution to the DA’s selection panel.

“We are selecting candidates who are capable, competent, and who understand their local communities. All politics are local, and candidates must be familiar with their local issues like water, sanitation, refuse collection, public transport, as well as housing and health matters in their local communities,” Meyer said.

“We are looking for what we call servant leadership, who are on the ground with residents. The candidates that we will present here today by our provincial leadership are people who went through a thorough selection process.

“As I stand here today, I want to ensure the citizens of the Western Cape that we have selected mayoral candidates who are fit for purpose,” Meyer said.

Steenhuisen said that when it comes to the Local Government Elections, it is about getting the basics right, which the DA has repeatedly demonstrated.

“Electricity in your homes, water in your taps, refuse collected on time, roads maintained, and communities respected. Sadly, this is not the story in many parts of the rest of South Africa.

“It is very easy to arrive on a doorstep with promises of all sorts of things that are put before voters. It's another thing entirely to deliver that. And so I would call upon voters, when making their choice, to examine the promises made and then ask where the record of action is in each of those,” Steenhuisen said.

Cape Times