And while former 17 year area rep John Saldivar laid way back - the man who replaced him - the PUP's Oscar Mira was front and center for his party.
And that's the same way he was in 2021 with Mayor Sharon Palacio - until their political relationship crashed and burned. It resulted in a dysfunctional term for the PUP. But today, Mira, like his mayoral candidate, said that is not consequential for voters. He insists that in spite of the dysfunction and the drama, work got done:
Reporter
"You endorsed Sharon Palacio in the last municipal election and we see how that played out. We've been talking about the negative outcomes of that administration. What is it to say that residents should trust you and trust the endorsement that you're making now behind Mr. Cawich?"
Oscar Mira, Area Rep., Belmopan
"I think that we all want to see women in leadership in Belize. It is something that I embrace very strongly. We have given women the opportunity to showcase themselves and to show their leadership."
"It's not an easy job. It's not an easy job. Unfortunately, it didn't go as we had planned, but that didn't stop us from doing the work."
Jules Vasquez
"You know that voters can realistically say, well, you let me down, Mayor. I saw you and Sharon campaigning and I had a certain expectation and you failed to meet that expectation. She did too, but she's not around. She's not offering herself for office. What do you tell those voters who are POP supporters?"
Oscar Mira, Area Rep., Belmopan
"I think that our voters in Belmopan have realized that under the People's United Party, things have moved forward in Belmopan. I think that having a People's United Party City Council working along with the central government is the best way to go. I don't see how that can fail."
Jules Vasquez
"It did fail. It did fail. It did not fail."
Oscar Mira, Area Rep., Belmopan
"It did not fail. If you look at Belmopan, tell me how much progress and how much work has been done in Belmopan in just three years. You can go and you can look around and you can ask the residents of Belmopan the amount of work that we put in here."
We note that only one councillor from the last PUP slate in 2021 survived the party's convention to elect new candidates.
