Newly-elected Mayor of Georgetown Patricia Chase-Green said yesterday that she was pleased to be heading a council with a fair mixture of youth and experience.
The former deputy mayor was elected as Mayor and Sherod Duncan as Deputy Mayor when the inaugural meeting of the new Mayor and City Council of Georgetown was held at City Hall.
Hundreds of citizens gathered in the compound of City Hall and several filled the public gallery in the chamber to witness the election.
While the voting process was smooth and unhindered, sources told Stabroek News that there were three meetings over the last week during which the coalition’s councillors were informed that Chase-Green would be Mayor and Duncan would be Deputy Mayor and urged to support the decision.
Chase-Green, a nurse and a veteran member on the former long-lived council, was the only nominee for the post of Mayor. She was nominated by APNU+AFC councillor Oscar Clarke and seconded by APNU+AFC councillor Alfred Mentore. Duncan, also an APNU+AFC councillor, was also the only nominee for the Deputy Mayor position and as such was duly elected.
After Chase-Green was officially announced as the new Mayor of Georgetown, the crowd erupted with applause and shouts of congratulations.
Local Government Elections were held on March 18, for the first time since 1994. APNU+AFC won 25 seats on the council.
Chase-Green, who won Constituency Twelve by a wide margin, had been a councillor since 1994 when she entered on the ticket of the now defunct A Good and Green Guyana party.
Duncan, a newcomer to the council, won Constituency Fourteen.
Speaking yesterday, Chase-Green said the City Council has to come together to determine a way forward. She said they will work together as a team as they want to see Georgetown grow and move forward. “I’m quite certain all the young people would’ve come in with a lot of expectations and we will work towards them being met,” she said, while adding that she is elated to work along with the young people in the council and also the elderly ones who will be bringing their experience and advice which will see the city make positive strides towards the future.
Duncan said he wants to engage the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), Team Benschop for Mayor and Team Legacy on their ideas and reach a common ground. He said that while he thinks people voted for the best team he is not debunking the other teams. “I don’t know how the other councillors were thinking but when I voted, I voted for the best team. I want to assume and hope they would’ve been calling on their better angels and not necessarily voting for party lines and party symbols,” he said.
