Two newcomers to politics will soon be heading to City Hall and hope to foster positive change in their new role as city councillors.
Broadcaster Malcolm Ferreira and entrepreneur Carolyn Caesar-Murray will be representing the voluntary group Team Legacy at City Hall when the new Georgetown city council is sworn in. Ferreira running in the First-Past-the-Post component in Friday’s local government elections managed to win his constituency seat while Caesar-Murray was selected to fill the seat the group won in the proportional representation (PR) component.
Team Legacy competed in Constituencies 9, 10,11,12,13 and 14 in the polls. The group’s two seats are the same as the main parliamentary opposition PPP/C which was awarded two seats under the PR component while the Benschop for Mayor group was awarded one seat. Both of the latter parties performed poorly though they had contested in all of the constituencies in Georgetown.
Ferreira, 37, is the only individual independent candidate who has won a constituency seat without the endorsement of a major political party. He won constituency 10, Charlestown–Albouystown. The governing APNU+AFC did not contest in this constituency.
Yesterday, he told Stabroek News that he is beyond proud to know that he has been elected to serve his community. He said it is time to use the seats to represent not only the people of his constituency but the entire Georgetown.
Stabroek News had previously reported that Ferreira plans to seek technical advice on cleaning up and maintenance of drainage as well as implementing after-school classes to aid children who are behind in school, or who are preparing for exams, or trying to find a career path. He had also spoken of rehabilitating the unused YMCA building so that it could function as the community centre where elders can go and engage in leisure activities.
Ferreira did not disclose which of his plans he would execute first and explained that he would like to have consultations with the members of the new council before any project is undertaken.
“It is time for no personal gains and personal agenda. This is a new system and we have to make it work to support our communities. We must be a council with one voice and do our best for everyone,” he said.
Meantime, Caesar-Murray, 36, who was the campaign manager for Team Legacy, told Stabroek News that she is elated to be selected to fill the seat awarded under the PR component.
The owner of Harmony Inn Apartments said that as a councillor, she will work closely with the other elected members of the council to highlight issues affecting women which includes improved health care services, job creation for women and elimination of domestic violence. She added that she would like to work with the municipality to tackle issues such as flooding, unemployment, and security, as well as improve delivery and distribution of services.
According to Caesar-Murray, as a councillor, she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the table that represents the views and vision of Team Legacy. She explained that she will be the voice that will petition/advocate for the fixing of forgotten communities. “I sincerely want to thank those that made this process possible namely the APNU+AFC Government for holding local government election after it was denied by the previous PPP/C administration for over 20 years,” she said.
