City Councillor and aspiring mayoral candidate Allan Pollard is being criticized by a fellow councilor tonight after he showed out yesterday - representing with personalized shirts and mobilizing his own supporters for what should have been a unity showing in yesterday's 21st parade.
Albert Vaughan - a close ally of mayor Bernard Wagner today came out and criticized Pollard for staking out on his own. He said that's not how politics works:
Albert Vaughan, Senior Councillor
"Alan is a good person and it worries me when he links up with a person like Micah. You know, I'm going to say like how I feel, you know. But we don't have a jostle in the council, no. The mayor enjoyed the full support of his council."
"With the parade, that was a unity parade by the party. Why Deputy Mayor Pollard choose to parade with his shirt and his... I don't know. And it show that as a young person who still has a lot to learn about party politics."
"Don't make your ego get ahead of you. You must understand exactly what you want, where you want to go. And you work inside the party, you know, work against the party. Nobody does that. The party is all of us, but we have leaders and they are a process in a party. And if you can't understand that then, I think you're in the wrong place. You know, he's a good young man, you know. But you know, as youth sometimes we lost our way Jules."
"He has every quality that you look for, Alan has that. But as a young person, you have to understand that, you know, just how you want... It is not about I, it's not about Alan Pollard. It is about the party that you want to represent. It's about the party that you take out there as an ambassador. You have to understand that. And I think Alan, is a young man, and I think everybody see an opportunity in Alan, how to use him. And I think that is what maybe catching Alan."
Jules Vasquez
"What will happen with the convention on November 5th? From your internal vibes or information?"
Albert Vaughan, Senior Councillor
"I don't know. I believe the party will make the right decision. Bernard Wagner will be the mayoral candidate. No doubt about that. That is the best decision for the party and the best decision for Belize City. With the other councillors, I really don't know. There are some people that really need not to be on the team. And I hope that the party go through that properly and make sure that whoever team they give Bernard Wagner to work with, it's a team that will take us to the next general election."
Jules Vasquez
"Are you going to offer yourself for a third term?"
Albert Vaughan, Senior Councillor
"No, no, no. I did say, you know, when I run 2018, I would have done two term. My turn up next year, and its time for I move to the next level one or to something else, but give another person, in particular young people, because we are really targeting young people, give another young person an opportunity to serve."
Jules Vasquez
"But you are the embodiment of old thinking, because the two young men who did try to come up, you did fight me at every turn that is Micah and Alan, you're the chopping them down as they try come up, they represent youth within the council."
Albert Vaughan, Senior Councillor
"Yeah, and I keep saying, Pollard is the deputy mayor for three years, there are other young people in there, right? And so if we so care about young people, the way, how they are projecting this then, I would expect Pollard to at least, you know, understand that you are not the only young stud in the race boss, there are other young people too as well."
"No, no, no, no, I am not fighting Pollard, I'm not fighting Micah. All I am stating to the young man that you're a young man. We were one time young kids and during those times that is when you made a lot of mistake. Time will come, you will get mature and better understand the business you're in."
After months of speculation, the PUP has still not said clearly if Wagner will be endorsed or. if there will be a convention for the mayoral post.
