KNYSNA NEWS - With Donovan Pofadder vacating the Ward 11 seat in Knysna's council in October, DA candidate Lorraine Opperman has been elected the new Ward 11 councillor.

Opperman was elected following by-elections on Wednesday 4 December, when the DA emerged victorious with 41.6% (547) of the votes. 

The ANC was the main opponent, coming in second with 378 votes, while the EFF came in third with 178 votes.

The new councillor is a thoroughbred Knysnarian, having been born in Knysna and spent her time growing up in Hornlee, which is also where she has raised all her children over the last 28 years. Opperman had previously been a member of the Knysna Community Forum and Cope political party, but prior to that she had never really seen herself as someone who would get involved with politics but rather as a person "who wants to aid and better my community"," she said. "I have however always been and will remain an activist for my people, to try and get them out of the bad times they may find themselves in."

Opperman was elected as a ward committee member in 2016, and speaking of her campaign in the lead-up to the by-elections, Opperman was immensely grateful for the support she was shown by the community, and she was relieved and elated when the results of the election were announced. "I was overcome with pure joy, and I am just very grateful for the opportunity to be able to better serve my community."

According to her campaign, Lorraine's biggest goals are to tackle issues with service delivery, safety and illegal dumping, as well as job creation, stating that she aims to "request more visibility from both SAPS and the law enforcement department". As someone who has spent a large part of her professional life in the construction industry, she understands the struggles faced by local labour, she said, adding, "I will help ensure that contractors employ local labour and ask for youth and skill development among our unemployed community."

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