It’s only two months to go before municipal elections and the Opposition
PUP still has not announced its slate for Belize City – the country’s
largest municipality.
But now party sources tell us it will present that slate by next week. Heading
it will be retired public officer and former Chief Education Officer Cecil Chubby
Reneau who will be the PUP’s candidate for mayor.
Backing him up on the slate will be Danny Madrid, a long-serving former councilor,
another former councilor Jackie Welch, a former candidate, Keith Acosta, along
with newcomers Robert Ortiz, Robert Cadle, Andrea O’Brien, and two well
known names, former Belize Times Reporter Alberto Vellos and Footballer Marvin
Ottley. The Party is expected to have a soft launch for the slate next week
Monday in Belize City.
The candidates face an uphill battle, as they challenge the politically formidable
incumbent Mayor Zenaida Moya. Conventional wisdom is that while Moya’s
council has its administrative difficulties, the mayor remains an undeniable
political powerhouse, and one that will prove difficult to unseat – particularly
for this low profile slate.
What will make it interesting is whether the PUP’s two city-based deputies,
Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde, will come to the fore and put in work for a slate
that’s a decided underdog. The pair stayed on the sidelines, and played
hands-off role in the 2006 municipal elections – in which the PUP were
devastated, garnering two seats out of 69 that were available nationally.
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