Residents will see new faces on the ballot when they make their mark in the August 3 municipal elections.
Goodwood resident Mark Raciet is one of the 14 independent candidates in the City of Cape Town.
Mr Raciet, 42, is standing in wards 26 and 27, both DA strongholds, which cover the greater Goodwood and Parow. He said he had been a member of both the Goodwood Neighbourhood Watch and Goodwood Ratepayers’ Association since 2009 and had tackled various ssues, including crime, problem buildings, park safety and support for the youth. In Ward 26, which the late DA councillor, Richard O’Connell, won in 2011, Mr Raciet will go up against the party’s Franschesca Walker, the ANC’s Sophia Emkie, the Freedom Front Plus’s Jefrey van Wyk, the EFF’s Carron Anthony and the ACDP’s Henry Arendse.
In Ward 27, Mr Raciet will face incumbent DA councillor Cecile Janse van Rensburg who is standing for re-election. She took 89.31 percent of the vote in 2011. Also contesting the ward, are the ANC’s Sibusiso Thwala, Pieter Jansen van Vuuren from the FF +, Ayanda Mali from the EFF and Henry Arendse from the ACDP.
Northern News previously dealt with Mr Raciet when reporting on a problem building in Goodwood (“Derelict house a health and safety hazard,” Northern News, June 29).
The community and the neighbourhood watch had urged him to stand, he said.
“Being involved with so many issues and knowing how difficult it is to get ‘joy’ out of the situations we fight for made me decide to take up this challenge,” he said.
The process of becoming an independent candidate, he said, had been a tedious one, but he had enjoyed great support along the way from the community.
“I am a paid-up member of the DA, but I am contesting as an independent candidate because I will not be dictated to or restricted by any party on how to uplift my community. I will, however, use whatever resources I would have at hand to fulfil my duties. I am there to represent the members of the community and not a party,” said Mr Raciet.