Shifting parties and regions, we head out west to the City of Belmopan. Isidoro "Richie" Galvez has announced that he will be running for mayor under the UDP banner.
Galvez was elected a Belmopan City Councillor in the 2018 municipal elections-on a slate which was led by then-Mayor Khalid Belisle. Galvez is a well-known promoter and the curator behind the majority of Belmopan's nightlife. So will the promoter-now-politician be able to unseat Pablo Cawich?
Isidoro Richie Galvez, UDP Mayoral Aspirant - City of Belmopan
"To be honest, Jay, for five to six years now, I've been approached numerous times to get back in politics, and I believe it has a lot to do with the community work, the projects that I've been executing and leading around Belmopan, in Belmopan and around the villages here. And honestly, I've always respectfully declined the offer, because I wanted to focus more on my personal businesses, and also I didn't want it to affect the route that we were heading when it came to the community projects, the initiatives that we were executing. I never want to disturb that, so I always declined."
"But there was always that cry and that push from the community, from young people, for me to re-enter politics. What's different this time? I think that frustration is at an all-time high from our young people, the business community, the sporting community, and the cries around Belmopan. It's severe, and sometimes I get emotional-like some of the messages I read, some of the people that reach out to me, some of the situations that people are in. You know, I try my best to help. I can't solve all the problems all the time, but I try my best to give a helping hand at times when I can. There's only certain things I can do."
"I believe that if I can serve as mayor, I would have the luxury to serve as mayor. We can do so much more. We already started the work. We already started the initiative. It's not like I'm just jumping out of any hole. The people know me. I've been doing hardcore community work, especially for the last nine years, starting in 2017 when I first entered politics, and then I paused in 2021, but the work never did stop. You know, I got more involved in the community and made sure that I look out for youths. I came up with different projects to make sure that they stay busy and they use their time wisely. In 2020, me and a couple of small business owners created what we call a small business boost program to help other small businesses. I think the time is now."
Reporter:
"You mentioned that you have a lot of community work going on. You have the 6K match. You have different fundraising events that you have going on. You have community events. You're a community man. One of the criticisms that we saw initially when you announced that you wanted to run was that people were saying that all these years you were doing that because you knew you wanted to get back in politics eventually."
Isidoro Richie Galvez:
"Wow. That's why when I read the comment, I said, 'Wow.' You know, if it was so, I would have already entered politics a long time ago, but I understand that my beliefs and my goals, some of my policies, don't really align with what the political parties have to offer. That one right there played a huge role for me because before I made my decision, I had to sit down with everybody, including the party leader, explain myself to her. What are my goals? What are my initiatives? I don't want to be too much involved in the old school politics. I think it's time to get rid of it, especially here in Belmopan. The fight is not really red versus blue. It has a lot to do with the old system versus the new movement."
