Municipal elections are set for March 4th, 2009, but who will be the UDP’s mayoral candidate? For those wishing to throw their names into the hat, the deadline is Friday, August first. 7NEWS has confirmed that as expected incumbent Mayor Zenaida Moya has entered her name. And to the surprise of some, so has her deputy, Anthony Michael, who hopes to challenge her.
In political circles, it’s a big development because it indicates that there is a split in the council, and to a greater extent, a split in the party. Highly placed sources within the UDP tell 7NEWS that there are many ranking officials within the party who would want to see a new Mayor in City Hall. Those sources tell us that Michael has significant support in area representative and ground commander Boots Martinez, while Moya has the support of party whip Michael Finnegan. Those are consequential allies, because on convention day, the victory will go to who can mobilize a greater number of delegates.
And when is that convention? No date has been set at this time, but conventional wisdom is that the party will likely hold it closer to the end of the year to minimize post-convention fallout. Whenever it’s held, the inter-council rivalry – which we are told is already bitter, will make for a few interesting months of campaigning. At the other end of the political spectrum, reports say the PUP hope to finalize their Belize City slate by the end of September.
