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Today we asked them why they are offering themselves:

Jules Vasquez
"Now Mr. Perdomo, in his letter, says that 'we have decided to give our full support and endorcement to Mr. Michael Singh, an outstanding UDP activist in our Caribbean Shores constituency.'"

Santino "Santi" Castillo Jr. - Aspirant for Standard Bearer
"I spoke to Mr. Perdomo on Sunday, and Mr. Perdomo is family on my father's side. And he shared with me that he is supporting Mike because this was already pre-made with him, even before he knew of my entering the race. So he said, 'Santi, you should have told me that.' I told him that I couldn't have told him if I didn't know that he was stepping down, so I want to believe that if had things been different, I would have garnered Carlos' support."

Mike Singh - Aspirant for Standard Bearer
"I think that Mr. Perdomo's endorsement carries a lot of weight. I will say that, and also, one of the things that perhaps you failed to say is that Mr. Espejo lost to Mr. Perdomo. So, his endorsement is worth-while, but he is also running on a different ticket - on the City Council slate. I am going the old-fashioned way. I do think that I have a very good committee. There is probably about a good 25-30 people that are involved as volunteers in our committee that is already starting to walk the streets. I have personally been out. I have started my walking; I am going out today. I believe that this campaign will be run on the ground. I believe that it will be one with the kind of people that know the area, that intimately know who the heavy-core UDP supporters are somebody like Mr. Burns who is here with me. He has been on the ground working; he is going to be with me the whole way, along with the rest of the committee."

Jules Vasquez
"Mr. Singh would appear to have a significant advantage in so far as, he has the endorsement of the incumbent and his committee."

Santino "Santi" Castillo Jr.
"I don't really think so, Jules, I have a very strong committee that just came out of that division in a situation that is also battle field ready, and they are Roger Espejo and his team. And I believe that we assemble at team and sometimes, Jules, I love being the underdog."

Mike Singh
"I think that my candidacy brings a little different twist, I believe. First of all, I've grown up in that area. I have worked with Mr. Esquivel in all his campaign. I was a campaign manager at one of them. I have worked with Mr. Perdomo. My family has always been a very strong supporter of the party. I also serve on the central executive, in several different seats. I'm the Chairman of the Finance Committee. I am also on the Public Relations Committee, and I am also on the Policy and Platform Committee. And I contributed very greatly to the development of the manifesto, and still working on the new one now. So I am very in tune with the party itself, which kinda helps me to understand the inner workings, and to be able to tell people what the party is all about."

Santino "Santi" Castillo Jr.
"The most important is that I am a Caribbean Shores resident for 27 years, lived there on Baymen Avenue since May of 1984. Secondly - and Mike is my good friend - but if I recall correctly, Mike just came back to Belize when the UDP won the last general elections. I'm a home boy, been there, done that. And you know, Jules, I've been involved in everything from basketball to cycling to community projects, to culture with my band. I just feel that I am a more public and likeable figure than Mike Singh."

Mike Singh
"It's not all about going in there sort of appeal on a popular type campaign. I think that people need to believe in you, and they need to believe that you can deliver. So, that that's really my take, and like I said, going out, there's over 5000 voters. I don't think that I'll be able to touch every single one of them. It's a short period of time, but I think that with our team that will be out there on the street, we should be able to touch quite a few. And I think that we can touch more than other people contesting, just because of our machinery."

Santino "Santi" Castillo Jr.
"We became battle-ready from this past weekend. We got the voter's list. We are already going through it, so the shortness of time doesn't scare me at all, Jules. If you will recall, in 1993, the then Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel asked me the 30 days to general elections to run in a constituency nobody wanted, Jules, Belize Rural South, against the mighty Glenn Godfrey. And he was winning there by 1300 -1400 votes, and he beat me in San Pedro by a 126 votes. So, the shortness of time, I'm a worker. I'll get up very early in the morning and go to sleep very late at night. And I think that I have a great committee, and we have a great vision for Caribbean Shores."

Mike Singh
"Well, you know, the one thing - I made decision when I turned 40, and I am 45 now, that I wanted a different phase in my life. And that phase, my dad always taught me about service. You know my father; he was the Chief Justice; he worked for Government up until he died. And he always taught me that someday you have to serve. I've done well in business; I think that that part of my life I've done, I think has gone well."

Santino "Santi" Castillo Jr.
"I will tell you that, speaking of business, I am a businessman that has business colleagues out there, and I want them to know that I'll be representing the business community. And I think the business community needs to have a representative in Caribbean Shores. I am accessible to all my business colleagues as well as to the grass roots people. So, I believe that the successes that I've had in my business, and in sports, I can bring that to the table of the Caribbean Shores."

Jules Vasquez
"There have been aspersions against you in your previous incarnation as CEO in Ministry of Tourism, when that very public controversy exploded surrounding the proposed, now defeated Port in Placencia. And people were saying that your firm, and they showed that you had shares in a firm that was involved in a real estate-related parties - real estate transaction. Then there was - your company had brought in one of the-"

Mike Singh
"Jules, hold on a second. I think that I have, over the years as a businessman, I have always been entrepreneurial. I have never denied the fact that I'm a business person. My company - my business headquarters is public for everybody to see. Everybody knows what brands my company represents, so that is neither here nor there. I have always paid my taxes; I've always hired people. I always been very entrepreneurial in building markets and building my business, and that is a part of me that made me what I am. So I don't feel that I have to make any excuses to anybody about a business that I have, or that I may be involved in to continue doing business. I don't think that being public life means that you have to shut down the rest of the life. So the word you used was aspersions. I would beg to differ. I would say that an entrepreneurial venture that I was involved as a real estate agent in a transaction is nothing to be ashamed of."

Hon. Carlos Perdomo - Caribbean Shores Standard Bearer Stepping Aside
"Well, we've met with our committee twice, and I think that it is not only my imprint, but it is the committee saying to him, there were certain ways to do things here, and that we would not like you to change. If you are going to change, please do it this way or this way."

So - with the convention date set for Sunday December fourth, it's off to the races for Mike Singh, Santino Castillo, Ann Marie Williams and Chandra Nisbet. That's four strong candidates, each with a credible platform - which should make it a tightly contested and entertaining campaign and convention.