One can easily mistake Ward 112 councillor Candice James for a beauty queen, chasing designer clothes and hopping from one salon to the other.
The 37-year-old is tall, lean and beautiful but her looks are a far cry from the kind of job she does. The mother of two, who will be representing the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ward 93 in the August municipal elections, always gets her hands dirty as she takes part in community activities.
James expressed concern over the challenges she was leaving behind in Ward 112. She was worried about the Midrand West Clinic that was failing to cope with the number of patients, the high crime rate in the ward and the huge traffic volumes caused by the new Mall of Africa.
“I am a proud South African citizen and love helping people. A little effort always goes a long way,” said James in an exclusive interview. She has been involved in projects to help underprivileged children and is currently working with DA Diepsloot councillor, Refilwe Mathebula in assisting children from poor families with clothes to keep warm.
James has to balance her household duties as a wife and mother of two daughters aged eight and 11, with a punishing council diary. Her council duties include attending various community, council, committee, caucus and political meetings, and managing service delivery projects.
“I was created to be awesome, not perfect,” said James who has been with the DA since 2011.
“I’m one of those people who juggles many balls at one time but insist on things being done the correct way. If you are going to do something, do it to your best ability.”
She added that during her five-year tenure as chairperson of her suburb, Barbeque Downs, her committee had hosted the Gift 67 Dinner in honour of Nelson Mandela every year, and had brought smiles to pupils of Sefikeng Primary School by holding Easter and Christmas parties for them annually. “As a councillor of Ward 112, I have thrived on community work,” she said.
“In the last two years we have donated shoes, planted trees, assisted schools, made toys for the neo-natal babies of the Joburg General Hospital, helped orphanages, collected books for Cluny Farm and collected over 1 000 teddies for abused children.”
She added that she had joined the Community Policing Forum and police on joint operations, cleaned streets, walked dogs and helped clean the Midrand SPCA.
James’ new ward comprises of Sunninghill, Paulshoff, Lonehill and Douglasdale.
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