The Georgetown City Council is set for mayoral elections today and the incumbent Patricia Chase-Green is expected to be challenged by Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan.
Annual elections for the mayor and deputy have to be held in all municipalities. Since her election earlier this year following historic local government elections in March, Chase-Green has faced numerous questions over the controversial parking meters deal and other matters such as vendors displaced from the Stabroek Market and container fees.
Duncan has opposed Chase-Green on the parking meters and other areas. Both Chase-Green and Duncan are from the APNU+AFC list and the Deputy Mayor has gotten clearance from his party, the AFC to challenge Chase-Green. The majority of councillors on the ruling coalition’s list are from APNU and the remainder from the AFC.
A release from City Hall yesterday announcing the elections, campaigned for Chase-Green.
It said that under the leadership of Mayor Chase-Green, several developmental projects, training initiatives and international alliances were inaugurated.
The release cited the City Engineer’s Building, Constabulary Building, East Ruimveldt Day Care Centre and Sexton Building as structures rehabilitated during the Mayor’s tenure. It also said that the process to repair City Hall has commenced with the European Union signing a contract with the City Council to facilitate a study for a Comprehensive Restoration and Sustainable Conservation Management Plan for City Hall.
Continuing its defence of Chase-Green’s tenure, the release said that employees of the Council benefited from local and overseas training; this included training of four constables from the bicycle patrol unit, Deputy City Engineer and Director of Solid Waste Management.
In addition, several Sister Cities relationship were resuscitated including a relationship with the city of Fuzhou in China through which 300 hundred refuse bins were given to the Council by the Chinese Embassy.
The release also pointed to the resuscitation of parks.
In a December 7 letter to Stabroek News, Duncan had set out his vision for the city.
“My vision would realize our capital city as a growth driver within a green economy by pursuing several core initiatives which, over the next year, will see us more fiscally responsible, with streamlined services for efficiency; our workers reoriented for greater productivity; civil society and the private sector engaged towards partnerships ? synergies for success.
“My agenda would be pro-business to compete with the international capitals of the world because people don’t visit countries, people visit cities. This is why whether coming into our country by sea or air, your destination is Port Georgetown (GEO).
“I would meaningfully re-engage the private sector. In this context I would set up the Mayor’s Business Forum that improves what the current Tripartite Committee sets out to do. I would include civil society and increase representation from central government to include, for instance, the Ministry of Business and Ministry of Tourism. Youth representation and representation from the new Guyana Market Vendors Union would also be included”, he said.
