And from the District to the City - as we told you last night city councillor Kaya Cattouse is offering herself as a PUP candidate for the Albert constituency.
But, didn't she just win city elections a few months ago? We today asked her what's her motivation for throwing her hat into the general election race:
Kaya Cattouse, Aspirant - Albert Constituency
"I think that working at the local government level for the past four years has definitely motivated me to want to represent a smaller group of people on a larger scale. I'm a city girl coming from Belize City, not necessarily from the Albert constituency, but this is the largest downtown area in the largest city in the country and there's a lot that can be done."
Reporter
"How would you respond to any detractor that says you're not from Albert to begin with and that's one of those constituencies where you have to have some kind of roots on the ground?"
Kaya Cattouse, Aspirant - Albert Constituency
"Who said that? Who made that rule? I don't believe that you have to were born or raised in a constituency to be able to link and relate to the residents of that constituency. I believe people in general have most of the same needs regardless of the constituency that they come from."
Jules Vasquez
"Albert is not an easy constituency in terms of it's one of those that held on during that massive blue tsunami of 2020. Explain to me what makes you think that five years, presuming the election, general is next year, that after the tsunami subsided, that you would be able to beat Tracy Taegar-Panton, who is a formidable veteran candidate?"
Kaya Cattouse, Aspirant - Albert Constituency
"For me, Jules, going into a constituency or choosing a constituency, you don't do this based on the opponent. I believe that I can come into this constituency with what I bring, the knowledge and the experience, working at the local government level and for me it's about a new drive, a new perspective. Wanting to give the people what we see they need and we believe that under a PUP banner with a PUP minister, we can do this."
Jules Vasquez
"We know that you have consistently polled very well, very high in the PUP city council, but you've been unable to parlay that success to popularity within the council."
"We know you've vied for the deputy mayorship and were unsuccessful. Is this a way of saying that well I never get to be deputy mayor, let me try get to be standard bearer?"
Kaya Cattouse, Aspirant - Albert Constituency
"Definitely not. The deputy mayor bid was definitely something that I indeed wanted. Maybe its still something, a door that is open for me in the future. However when the chance came around my colleagues decided that my opponent was a better person and we have to live with that."
Jules Vasquez
"Now over 10,000 Belize City voters cast their ballot for you or voted for Kaya because they want you in city hall. Is this a way of, is it really insulting those voters by saying all right, I get elected but these are minor things to me I want to move on up."
Kaya Cattouse, Aspirant - Albert Constituency
"Working at the Belize City Council, the municipal level I have been able to work across 10 different constituencies. Yes, garner the vote. The results were resoundingly reassuring at the polls both times. However, I believe that there is a transition period that everybody goes through and you come into local government with aspirations to move on to central government."
Reporter
"Nonetheless, you would still be short-changing the residents of Belize City who voted for you for a three-year term. If elections are called in 2025, that's only one year into the term. They would say, well, look, we vote you for the entirety of the term and not necessarily for one-third of it."
Kaya Cattouse, Aspirant - Albert Constituency
"Belizeans or the residents of Belize City will definitely not be short-changed."
Jules Vasquez
"If you were to be successful, first in the convention and then at the national level, at what point is your seat declared vacant and a by election triggered?"
Kaya Cattouse, Aspirant - Albert Constituency
"After you have won and will go into the House of Representatives, that is when you have to vacate your seat at the Council."
Jules Vasquez
"Does this Council risk a sort of mass voiding of its compact with the voters if Mayor Wagner goes into the collet constituency, as he may, if Alan Pollard goes into Queen Square or some other constituency, as he may, and you already announced that you are going to Albert, that would be three of the 11, that's 33% roughly."
"Would the voters have a right at that point to say, man, you all are playing with my emotions. I thought that you all would run my city."
Kaya Cattouse, Aspirant - Albert Constituency
"When that time comes, we'll figure it out."
Cattouse has to wait until next week's closing date for applications to learn if she will face a challenge or have an endorsement convention.
