And while that is how Hyde sees it, clearly he doesn't have control or even significant influence over his party's decisions in the city - where the four term representative is the PUP's ranking political don. We asked him about that apparent disconnect:..
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"As the deputy leader, senior deputy of the PUP. I don't know if that's the formal post, but you are responsible for the city, so you are responsible for the success of the city council slate. One would think that after that completely unexpected victory the party would say okay, your call in the city, you have proven that you are the leader of the city. While yes, the party has its structure. How you want it in the city is how it shall be, because you are running this thing right now. Why wasn't that done if it was your judgement that there should be challenges as in Port Loyola?"
Hon. Cordel Hyde, PUP Deputy Leader
"You would think that right? But remember Pre-March of 2018 a few people wanted to run for the party. We had to dig deep to ensure that we get the right candidates. We had to go the extra mile to get people to run, because people weren't volunteering to run. But that's expected. We haven't won in 15 years. Now that we've won, in Belize City - it's like a gold rush. Everybody thinks we are heading for Belmopan. You can't stop the herd. People are coming out of the bushes to run."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Is Valerie Woods a part of that herd, in so far as you went and personally, as I heard you appeal to her rather pleadingly? I don't want to say you beg, but you pleaded to her to please run and she considered it and said no. Now she does want to run. Is she a part of that herd you speak about?"
Hon. Cordel Hyde, PUP Deputy Leader
"No. I did plea with Valerie to run for our mayoral candidate. This was a year ago. At the time I felt like we needed someone with name recognition. The job of the mayor is totally different from an area representative on the southside. But who am I to judge? I am not going to judge the persons who want to run. I think ultimately once you have the competence and you have the commitment and you are a member of the People's United Party in good standing and the constitution is very clear on who can run and who can't run or who can hold a seat in the national assembly. Once you pass that, then you can face the public and let the public decide. It's not for me to decide."
We also asked Hyde if rumoured PUP candidate Zenaida Moya is one of the herd he speaks about - you'll her his response to that later on.
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