But MAYOR Sheran Palacio claims she hasn't been treated like family at all, more like an outcast. And she says that her council has not gotten help with streets.
Yesterday she invited Jules Vasquez to briefly orient himself with the state of the council's financial and operational affairs.
Here's what he found:
Walk into the Belmopan City Council - and you're greeted by the faces of the 6 councilors, but you'll never see them here - except maybe yesterday:
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"No, I have a council meeting in the next few minutes."
Jules Vasquez
"But Mayor you have no councillors to meet with."
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"But they di cohn. We will meet. Yes!"
The mayor is isolated from both her party and her council and she knows it:
Jules Vasquez
"How do you respond to the criticism that you failed in the most fundamental job of a politician which is to build consensus and get people to like you. Your own councilors, to like and trust you."
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"Yes, when it comes to building relationships and building trust it comes with the will. People have to want Jules. If you have outsiders, outside influence telling you otherwise. Look, you can be stubborn for no reason you know. Let me tell you many a days when it comes to council meetings they just didn't show up without even saying or sending an excuse."
So, the mayor has had to go it alone - with her core staff who showed us the state of the council's finances when they inherited a bankrupt and deeply indebted institution, with no real physical assets:
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"I think the average person would have disappeared from here you know cause you have nothing, the equipments are useless and you have to clean this city. There is where local government and all the others who are criticizing should say you know let me go and see how I can help. There's nothing here."
And so, she's been looking abroad in far reaching trips - most recently to Dubai:
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"And I was chosen to go to Dubai not as a Belmopan city council mayor as an international, I represented the entire world to go and set the stage so I must be doing something right Jules. And I'm not trying to sing my own Sankey,"
Jules Vasquez
"But as a lame duck mayor should you have gone? You should just manage the affairs of the council quietly but you are traveling?"
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"I think you're getting very disrespectful you can't term me a lame duck."
Jules Vasquez
"That's a political term, a political term for someone who is not getting another term is a lame duck."
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"No, no, no, no."
Jules Vasquez
"But you're over sensitive it's a political parlance term."
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"No Jules let me tell you, there's nothing you can tell me for me to see myself differently, right? Not going on second term that's, I always only wanted one term you know, you know Jules. A second term would have been to perfect things but it's not going to happen. You said it in one of your interviews from my Independence Day speech you were the first one to grab it and it's true but even before that speech, if that is what you would know even before that speech. They weren't going to endorse me. They were not going to endorse me."
"I said I wanted to run for one term to come and cleanup, this Belmopan city Council."
Jules Vasquez
"But then you are inconsistent because then why are you complaining then that everybody else get a chance to get endorsed but you didn't get a chance to get endorsed you didn't want to be that's what you're saying."
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"No, no, no, no, no, okay I should have been allowed to decide for them to know because I kept on telling all my people I only wanted one term they didn't even bother to even. Has anyone ever come to sit with me no nothing. So the fact that you have someone campaigning so many people campaigning to become mayor and counselors long before I think only in Belmopan that was happening long before it's disrespectful."
And - no stranger to third person references - one thing this Mayor does not accept is disrespect:
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"So, from the very beginning they wanted Palacio to fail but Palacio did not failed. If you go and find out from the residents who they are going to vote for. You go and find out."
Jules Vasquez
"Mayor without the support of a mass party you would be blown out the water, my dear."
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"No, no, it's not like that we are not looking at party we are looking at Palacio."
But, it seems Palacio got conned on one of her efforts at forming a bond with an African Football team:
Jules Vasquez
"I will say the allegation that has been made is that when you were bringing that football team, the reason it was stopped is because it was a big human smuggling operation. The football team from Ghana. They said it was a big human smuggling operation. People were going to come on the flight and then find their way out of Belize that's the allegation that's what, they allege you were involved in. People in the PUP told me this. What's your response?"
Sheran Palacio, Mayor of Belmopan
"It's very sad personally, I had no idea when it comes to the Ghanaians and the team coming in. Everything sounded legit, and when we met with the people from FIFA, it sounded good but the intelligence quickly looked into it and put a stoppage, but I wouldn't say that I was consciously involved in looking at any human trafficking."
Tomorrow, we'll have the final part of that interview.
