Outsider vying for top DA post
DR ARLENE Adams‚ a low-profile City of Cape Town councillor vying to become DA leader in the Western Cape‚ has given herself a 25% chance of clinching the top job.
Adams surprised many on Wednesday when the party confirmed that she was among four candidates vying for the position.
She is running against Western Cape Housing MEC and deputy leader Bonginkosi Madikizela‚ former provincial police commissioner Lennit Max and City of Cape Town chief whip Shaun August.
Adams, 55, said: “If you don’t enter a race‚ you lose 100%.
“I have given myself a 25% chance.
“What I have to do af- terwards is lobby for votes. Nothing in politics is guaranteed.”
She is a newcomer‚ not just to the DA‚ but also to politics‚ having joined the party in 2012 while still a lecturer and researcher.
But she said she was putting her name forward to represent women who did not take the chance of contesting leadership positions.
“I am stepping forward as a woman representing‚ embodying those people who do not speak and I am hoping they will understand that’s what the DA is about,” she said.
She said a vision of leadership had been brewing in her for years.
However‚ the real contest is set to be between Madikizela and August.
Madikizela’s advantage is that he served as a deputy to Patricia de Lille when she crisscrossed the province last year campaigning to dislodge ANC leaders in various municipalities.
August‚ on the other hand‚ led the party as Cape metro chairman when the DA achieved its twothirds majority in last year’s local government poll.
Max‚ although an experienced politician‚ has failed in attempts to lead the party three times – in 2007‚ 2010 and 2015.