Shyne and Saldivar aren't the only ones who voted against Faber. Former three term area rep for Belize Rural North, Edmund Castro, made his position clear during an interview with the media. He said he was voting so that his party can have a fresh start and criticized Faber's leadership style, saying that he was not effectively communicating with his other party members.
He also told us that if he had his choice of leader, it would be the chairman, Michael Peyrefitte. But he conceded that it's not up to him, it's up to the delegates and the voters.
Edmund Castro, Former Area Rep.
"If you want the honest truth, I'm voting so that our party can get a new lease on life. Brother Faber is my friend but I don't think he is leading the party and pushing the party in the direction that we need to go. You can't have a cycling team if you aren't meeting with your cyclist and your team. You must meet with your people, and for him not meeting with his people like he should, I think the no vote for us to get a new lease on life is well fitting."
"If you go to school and your teacher give you 33 or 34% that noh mean you win, that noh mean you pass, you fail. If you get 34, 35% you fail. So you faol so you must do something about your failure and try to see how you can catch p on the next 66."
Reporter:
"Did Faber speak with you?"
Edmund Castro, Former Area Rep.
"Well I hug ah up today but apart from that 8 months I call ah and only one time he called me. It's not all of us interested in party politics, running again, but you cannot win a constituency without us, the old guard. Let us come in and sit down and say you interested in running? Let me say this, some of my friends might say we don't want to run again but we can come as a party and identify someone who can run and support them. If we don't throw our weight behind whoever he want to endorse, it won't happen. We need to come together, sit around the table and find out who interested, who isn't interested, and let us unite."
Reporter:
"Do you want to run again?"
Edmund Castro, Former Area Rep.
"Me neem know that. But come talk to we!"
Courtney Menzies:
"Sir do you think people will be able to have trust in the party again once this is all settled?"
Edmund Castro, Former Area Rep.
"This is the best time for us to choose a new course and if Brother Faber remain, that's fine, he need to do what he need to do to unite the party. If you can't unite the party, brother step aside, put somebody else. Darrell dah noh mih best bwai."
Reporter:
"Who dah your best bwai?"
Edmund Castro, Former Area Rep.
"Me dah Peyre. But if the people like Darrell, who am I to say me noh want Darrel? Me like Peyre. And when Peyre talk, people listen. You could say what you want. Dah noh true? But dah no me fih choose that, and the people in Belize Rural North will decide if they want me, they dih say, Clear the Land you have to come rescue me. I say right now, have to? I neem have to dead right now, I'm enjoying bikecation, enjoy riding my bike and sell Papa Jeff and support mih pikni they weh the race."
After the voting results were out, we asked Faber about Castro's comment and he told us that he would close the door on negativity along with anybody who feels they cannot work with him.
Hon. Patrick Faber, UDP Party Leader
"I'm not gonna respond to any negatives anymore, I am going to embrace anybody, those who want to work with me, my door is open my arms are open to embrace them once again. As I said this morning in an interview with all of you guys, the negativity is done, once again I've won this convention or this recall so I am now all about embracing those who wished to be embraced, ultimately those who feel like that they can't work with me, they have to move on, that is on them and I am not going to push that agenda. My agenda now is to embrace those who want to work and to push the party forward."
