MyShtetl blogger Darren Bergman fought a strong campaign and won a surprise victory for the DA in the 18 May elections – beating the ANC by around 400 votes in Ward 32 – which includes parts of Alexandra and was considered an ANC safe seat.
In the 2006 local government elections Darren secured under 1,000 votes and the ANC candidate won with a strong 91 percent. Darren went on to become a PR councilor and the DA spokesman for safety and security.
This time around it was a completely different story. Darren was expecting to do well, but even he was somewhat surprised at the outcome. “We did the unexpected, we actually won the ward!” Darren told MyShtetl yesterday.
Drawing a comparison between 2006 and 2011 is difficult, as the ward changed with the inclusion of Buccleuch. (SEE TABLE OF VOTES BELOW)
“However,” Darren told MyShtetl, “it boils down to the fact that I had 1015 votes in my area in 2006, 60 of them coming from Klipfonteinview.” Referring to the supplied table (see below), Darren told us: “As you can see I more than doubled that vote and brought down their voter turnout.”
A keen and regular Shtetler and occasional blogger on this
website, you can find DARREN’s BLOGS by clicking here.
Darren says that with the inclusion of Buccleuch, he had predicted “that we would get about 2500 votes at a push, which is what I wanted to do.”
As it turned out, Darren’s performance was a routing! “It turns out that we nearly doubled that [target of 2500 votes] and we did the unexpected, we actually won the ward!” says Darren. He told MyShtetl that the goal was set of capturing the ward, “but it was out of reach.”
So he thought. In a ward that everyone thought was a safe ANC retention, Darren delivered his opponent more than just a slap on the cheek, the ANC were routed!
In the previous council, Darren held the DA’s safety and security portfolio. Now that the DA have all-but doubled their PR councillors (who don’t have wards to take care of) from 24 to 45, Darren says he gave the portfolio back “without being asked whether I would like to keep it or not” simply because there are now sufficient PR councillors. “I will still be on standby if they need me,” he says.
Asked about the pending suspension of the head of the city’s Emergency services, Darren was equivocal in his approach: “I am clear on the fact that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. However, Gule should have been suspended over 6 months ago so that proper investigations could have taken place unhindered. We are watching an internal bleeding in EMS that will not only destroy years of experience and foundation but will also lead to many more injuries and death due to poor service delivery,” he told MyShtetyl. “Let us hope that [new mayor] Parks Tau will challenge the very people that were too political to challenge.”
Jewish candidates fared strongly and their numbers seem to have grown the Johannesburg chamber.
To the best of MyShtetl’s knowledge, Joburg’s Jewish councillors include Darren Bergman, Allan Fuchs, John Mendelsohn, Jack Cooper, Stephen Kruger, Sol Cowan and Stuart Diamond (ex-Cape Town).
Shirley Ancer, Ray Wolder and Joy Copan have left the council chamber.
Darren took what was considered a safe Ward - Ward 32 - which includes parts of Alex.png
