Last night we told you about the latest turn in the ill-fated political career of Mark King. The former City Councilor went out like a Kamikaze back in August of 2008 - when he blew the whistle on his own mayor accusing her of corruption, mismanagement and nepotism.
For that infraction of campaign rules, he was barred from offering himself for the UDP City council slate in 2009. King took the punishment, served the time, and now the man who still proudly calls himself a die-hard UDP, wants to offer himself for the standard bearer convention in Lake Independence.
But a terse letter from the party yesterday informed him that his application had been disapproved. It gave no reason for the rejection and King says that's unjust and unfair. It has left him aggrieved and filing an appeal which he told us about today.
Mark King
"The letter states that I have been disapproved to run as a candidate under United Democratic Party for the Lake I division, and so what I am doing here today, I am in the process of appealing that process. The only thing that I can say is that I believe that it is unjust and it is unfair. I have been on the frontline for this party. I have been on the frontline for Dean Barrow, for the City Council, for Juliet Thimbriel, for the Chairman Patrick Faber personally, on his campaign trail, and now this is how you want to violate my constitutional right? The party isn't even following its own constitutional rights! To give the candidate applying - and I am not just a candidate that's the bad part - I am a UDP, I have not been suspended, I have not been expelled, I have been sanctioned but sanctioning has been passed. And so then what I am doing here today is I am saying to the United Democratic Party - allow the people to have a choice - don't knock me out before the race starts because maybe you don't like me or you want to continue to sanction me. Allow the people to have a choice because now it puts into question the entire way the United Democratic Party vets people. Is it because they just don't like you, and they want to continue sanction you or they don't want you to be a part of the party that they can tell you that you are out! There are criteria you have to meet: if your police record is clean; if your financial information is sound; if you are not a candidate that has all kinds of smears on you. The only smear I have on me is since I joined the United Democratic Party, they have been bringing all the smears to me and I have taken those like a man."
Jules Vasquez
"But Mr. King, apparently nobody wants to tell you but I will tell you what I have heard from "big" people in the party that they think you are crazy. They really do, It's not my opinion, its what's they are saying to me "Mark King crazy, we will not allow him to run because he is crazy" Do you accept? Do you know that they feel that way?"
Mark King
"Jules so you are saying right now if any Belizean out there applies to join the United Democratic Party and they tell you that that man is crazy. Let me tell you why the United Democratic is afraid for me, it's because I have video and audio recordings and proof of everything that I say and do in this party, that is why they are afraid for me. Last night the Part Chairman call me and rail-up with me and I told him that I am recording him, he hurry hang up his phone and that is why they are afraid of me because you will not set me up."
"I am saying that when a candidate and I am not just a candidate, I am a diehard UDP like I said, so when I apply now you will have the audacity of giving me a letter telling me that we just reject you because we want with no apparent reason. No man that is not the democratic process. If that is it then we have a dictatorship democracy in this country and there is no such thing."
Jules Vasquez
"But at the same time it's a party, it's a political party, just like a regular party. Just like a regular party, if they don't want you to go at the party then don't go it doesn't makes sense you stay outside and shout at them to let you in the party. Apparently and maybe they are wrong but they don't want you in their party. That what it seems to me from this letter."
Mark King
"Yes Jules but that is exactly what I am trying to get into your head, into your skull. What I am trying to say to you is that that is not their right to choose whether or not I want Mr. King in the party because I have a master's degree or I want you because you and Boots Martinez have no degree except common sense...your role under the party's constitution is to vet everybody with fairness not with judgment - you are not God. Not with judgment, let the people on the ground at the end of the day do the judgment. That is what the democratic process does on both party sides; it is the process that allows the Belizean citizens to have the leaders that they choose instead of what parties want. And the bad part is like you say that it always work out the way parties want. We have to stop control democracy."
"Jules, I will tell you right now that I come in peace, I have on my white gloves and I ask the United Democratic Party to work with me when that gloves is on because I don't want to go further than that, it won't be good for any of us."
True to the "white gloves" treatment, King says that he will not jump parties, run independent, or go to the Supreme Court, but if his appeal is denied, he will come back to the media…..
