Mayor Wagner Backs Son-in-Law, But Says Delegates Decide

The race for the PUP’s Belize City mayoral nomination is still wide open, despite Mayor Bernard Wagner publicly backing his son-in-law, Deputy Mayor Eluide Miller. Wagner says Miller has the work ethic and values to lead City Hall, but that endorsement has stirred debate among supporters of former Deputy Mayor Allan Pollard Jr. Still, Wagner insists delegates, not endorsements, will decide who carries the party’s banner in the next mayoral race. He says both Miller and Pollard are strong contenders, and the convention process will determine the winner.

 

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“I don’t want to comment much on that. My comments has been well documented. I leave it up to the mechanism that is in place the party mechanism. The delegates it was made to understand that more than likely there will be a convention. And so the delegates will speak as to who they want to represent the PUP, because remember that is just for the PUP side. You still have the opposition side, and that is the real test, when you go up against the opposition. So I’m pretty confident in the mechanism that the party has in place to see that we have the right person at the helm to lead the party and the city.”

 

On the opposition side, the UDP still has not settled on a mayoral candidate for Belize City. Businessman and political analyst Damian Gough and attorney Jacquelyn Willoughby have both put their names forward, setting up a potential contest for who will lead the party’s municipal slate.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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