The other man who would lead the UDP is Darrell Bradley. Last night you saw him speak about his vision for the future path of the UDP. Tonight we have more of that conversation with Jules Vasquez where we asked him about the recall petition and how he would vote. First, he did concede that the existence of a petition with 300 signatures - that alone - spells trouble for leader Patrick Faber:
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"I think that if you are dealing with a petition and if a significant amount of people sign a petition, more than half of the delegates sign the petition - to me that should be enough. If more than half of the persons and those signatures were verified, so it's not an issue that people would have been coerce to sign, people would have sign off their own volution."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"If you had a vote, how would you vote in the recall convention?"
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"I wouldn't say necessarily now, like I'd have to think."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Are you serious?"
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"I don't want to be evasive, but I'm saying we are putting a lot of energy into something that I actually think is not the real question that we should be looking at."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"I understand, but its front of you, you have to eat what's on the plate in order to..."
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"I'm not there, I don't even know if I can vote. You ask me how I would vote; I don't even know if I could vote."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"I am asking hypothetical, you're not a man on the street, you are going to be a senator."
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"I would choose not to answer the hypothetical."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"But I'm saying it's not a frivolous or necessarily malicious exercise. These people who spearheaded it they genuinely believe that with Patrick Faber as leader, the UDP will remain unelectable. That is their opinion and they got enough people to sign on to it to say it's a sentiment that we share. I'm saying that you cannot side-step the importance of that by being above the fray."
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"No, and I agree with you that that is the reality in which our party faces itself and as member of the party I am bound by that law. That's a decision and if it comes to the fact that I have to vote because I am now qualified to vote, because I hold an actual position in the party, then I would vote."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"By the same standard that people would seek to disqualify Mr. Faber, that same standard applies to the now leader of the opposition Shyne Barrow. Would you agree?"
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"I would say - this is why I go from that, because I would agree. The standards of ethical conduct and the standards of leadership apply across the board, regardless of who you are. The only caveat that I would say there is that we are not perfect people and there is no way that I would ever stand for any kind of domestic violence. I would want my leader to be somebody who would be above reproach."
We also asked Bradley about his quite singular view of the political game. He's against that big money politics that the PUDP have made famous - which is what may have lost him a seat in Caribbean Shores in 2018, when he lost by a narrow margin. He said that has only made him more firm in his belief:
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"How would you answer the criticism that you are unelected for a reason, because at the national level, at the constituency level you are unelectable because of the type of politics that you espouse and believe in. Even if you become leader, the road to electability at the constituency level for you is a challenging one, because your beliefs of how politics and politicians should operate is in line with the political norms that prevail in Belize's political culture."
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"I want to be very clear in that response, that I advocate for certain change and I think that that change has to emanate from the vote. Our vote in Belize I legitimately believe that is not authentic. It's a vote that is manufactured, it's a vote that does not legitimately represent the will of the people. You look at the list of delegates and you look at how the listing itself would be stacked."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"You don't believe in patronage, clientelism - that boy, I voted for you Darrell, I need your help now."
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"This is something that I have never made my career on that and I would say this, I am prepared to lose. I just want to know that I lose in a way that conforms with what I believe in. Again, I don't want to say that I am a perfect person, but I want to say that in this society we need change. We cannot operate the way that we have been operating in where we have a political system that is rank by money."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"You can't change anything if you can't win. In order to win, to get that breakfast you got to break some eggs, sir."
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"I hear that. But If I don't win, that's fine."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"As somebody who wants to lead you can't say that."
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"I did say that."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"It's win or die."
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"That is not the case."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"That's how politics is."
Darrell Bradley, Senator Designate
"That's why as you have said I am not a good politician and that may not be a bad thing."
