Cape Town - Cape Town will have a new mayor come local government elections.
The DA has opted for youth in Geordin Hill-Lewis while the GOOD party chose the experienced former Mayco member Brett Herron.
The ANC and EFF are yet to announce their candidates in what could be a closely-contested municipality.
The ANC is still dealing with registrations and the Weekend Argus has seen that some of its councillor candidates details were captured incorrectly.
The party is also heading to the Electoral Court to beg for mercy as it failed to register candidates in 35 municipalities.
The EFF has already announced that it will oppose the application.
DA party insiders said current mayor Dan Plato was still holding talks with party leaders about his future after not getting the nod for mayoral candidate.
Earlier this year, there were reports that Plato was offered a MEC position if he vacates his mayoral position to make way for the party’s favourite candidate Hill-Lewis.
The reports say he declined the offer and decided to go head-to-head with Hill-Lewis.
Herron, who is not new to local government, said he wants to resuscitate Cape Town’s “brutalised soul”.
He has been making the right noise with his party about the DA’s governance of the City.
“We will care equally for all residents regardless of their race, bank balance or where they live. We will fight, with all our might, to narrow inequalities in our residents’ living environment. We will change our pronouns from the divisive ’us and them’, to the inclusive ’we’ and ’our’. Our Mother City,” he said.
If elected, Hill-Lewis will make history by becoming the youngest mayor ever in the the history of Cape Town.
He comes in as the hope for the party to win back the support they lost to parties like the Freedom Front Plus.
He first paid tribute to the incumbent mayor before promising to usher better services to Capetonians.
“Mayor Dan Plato was not only a worthy opponent and a leader who will long be remembered for the courage he displayed in guiding Cape Town through some of its stormiest times in recent history, but he is also an exemplary democrat in the finest sense of the word.
“To truly secure Cape Town’s future, we must now do even more than ever before. By uniting behind the DA, we will banish this brutal winter that saw so many of us lose so much, and we will make sure that spring comes again in Cape Town,” said Hill-Lewis.
Weekend Argus