Three Terms Later, Mayor Bernard Wagner Prepares to Exit

With three terms behind him and only four months left at City Hall, Mayor Bernard Wagner is preparing to pass the torch. He says work is already underway to ensure a smooth transition to the next council, which will take office shortly before the municipal elections. But as Wagner prepares to close this chapter, questions remain about his political future and whether he is truly ready to step away. Today, he reflected on his time in office, shared what may come next and offered advice to whoever takes charge of the city.

 

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City

“As you know, my time is up on February 27^th but I am still actively in charge of the city. That is important that we continue to have leadership in the city.”

 

Paul Lopez

“So have you begun winding down any at all, putting things in place?”

 

Bernard Wagner

“Of course, transition is important and the mere fact that we have our administrative team is important and during that gap when the election is called and we demit office, there is a window where the administrative staff really run the city.  It has been a great run, I have enjoyed it. I have learnt so much. I came in anticipating to do so much and I will say this to many of the people aspiring, you have to temper those expectations as you come into City Hall, because you will quickly find out that many of those plans and ambitions really is driven by your ability to have funds. That is important to any municipality.”

 

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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