You may not know the name Jerome Wade if you don't live in Belize Rural North, but if you watch the news or listen to the morning shows, you'll definitely know Arthur Saldivar.
Both offered themselves as candidates for the PUP Convention in Belize Rural North, but there'll be no contest and no vote, Saldivar will get the nod at an endorsement.
True enough, Saldivar has marketed himself effectively on the media, in fact, he once accepted the moniker his opponents put on him, the Serial Caller.
And on Sunday, Saldivar will be endorsed as the PUP's candidate for Belize Rural North - which if you follow the script, is probably as it should be, politics being akin to a high stakes popularity contest.
But the simplicity of the script is deceptive in this case, and that fact that the executive of the PUP has enforced an endorsement convention for Saldivar has created a deep rift in the party, so much so, that two members of the party executive hastily resigned this week - one of them being Deputy Leader Dan Silva.
In the middle of all this is Jerome Wade. He's been politically active in the area for 20 years and the Bermudian Landing resident today told us that he just wanted to be a contender. He says the party chairman told him it would be an open convention, but the rules suddenly changed. He told us why there was no way he could go with those new rules:…
Jules Vasquez
"The endorsement convention is on Sunday. Will you be attending in support of the PUP and Arthur Saldivar?"
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"Certainly not Jules, I will not be a part of that."
Jules Vasquez
"Why? According to a PUP release that I have here. One candidate yourself presumably protested at the point where the list of voters were being vetted and determine not to participate in the convention. It's you who decided to go out, nobody force you out."
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"Well that is not true, I have not decided to go out and as far as I know I am still officially in. I would say that elements of the party who would rather see another person in the constituency and they would do anything to ensure that I am not afforded a fair chance to contest the convention. The local executive along with the other candidate produce a list of 952 names of the 4,969 registered voters in Belize Rural North and those are the people that they are saying would be allowed to vote in this convention. I strongly object to that, I mean how could I in my clear conscience agree to something like that. Less than 20% of the registered voters would be making a decision as to who will represent the party in the next general election. If you ate saying that you only have 952 supporters in a division that has 4,969 registered voters, then I mean it's useless even contest the election."
Jules Vasquez
"As a good PUP it has to make you kind of shame for the grand ole party to say of 5,000 people registered, we could only pend on 965, as a candidate, as an aspirant for the PUP that has to be kinda shaming."
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"Jules you carry it far. Let's put it like this, let's put away all the politics, let's put away PUP and UDP and just talk about representation. In a constituency where we have 4,969 registered voters, you are saying that only 952 will be allowed to vote at a convention, that's shouldn't male anybody feel bad. It's not over as far as I am concern, as I have told you earlier, I have not withdrawn from any convention and as far as I am concern it is not over."
Jules Vasquez
"You cannot contest this convention, they have already said Mr. Arthur Saldivar (this is an official release) was mandated. The chairman wrote that there was only one candidate and as such the convention will proceed as was approve to endorse Mr. Arthur Saldivar. This is an official release. you are in horrible fantasies."
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"Well that's one way to look at it, that's your opinion and I believe that the election is certainly a good distance away, we have enough time to reflect and decide what you will do, but again you are assuming too that Mr. Saldivar will want my help. I had not have any communication with him to that effect."
Jules Vasquez
"Well in fact Mr. Saldivar told me, I met him on the street, he did not say he was talking off record, he told me plainly that you had ask him for $33,000.00 so that you would not run and he offered you $5,000.00 that you didn't accept and that's why you are now making all this noise. That's what Saldivar told me."
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"I am glad that you brought that up Jules because they had been spreading…. - my opponents, I don't know if it is Arthur Saldivar himself."
Jules Vasquez
"Well he told me that personally."
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"You say he told you that and I know for quite a while and I take that to be so. But I have never heard it from him personally and he cannot come to me and say that personally - truthfully because I had never had any communication of such with him but I also understand that there are rumors going around and that's the reason why I accepted this interview because I want to get that clear. Nobody can pay me to stop down because this was never about me, it was about the people that I had hope to represent and still hope to represent someday."
Jules Vasquez
"But we can accept that as an inevitability Arthur Saldivar will be endorse as the candidate on Sunday. You accept that will happen."
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"I cannot accept that. We will see what will happen on Sunday. As far as I know as have not withdrawn my application from the PUP. It was accepted and we will see what happens on Sunday."
Jules Vasquez
"Are you planning to crash the convention on Sunday?"
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"I have no plans to get involve in that convention in any way, positive, negative in any way. I don't want to be involved in something that is excluding over 4,000 of the people that I am hoping to represent one day. I don't want to be a part of that."
Jules Vasquez
"While you are being vague about what the future holds, I am telling you what the future holds. The future holds Mr. Arthur Saldivar - this man has invested his money in the division, he has put all his public relations, the amount of phone calls that he have made to radio stations promoting himself. The credits alone, he has invested in his candidacy and he is not going to back down. So what going to happen in 2013 you will have to vote for Arthur Saldivar PUP for Belize Rural North."
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"You are assuming a lot Jules. First of all I don't know what will happen on Sunday."
Jules Vasquez
"But I am telling you what will happen."
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"I can help the PUP in many other ways, in many other constituencies."
Jules Vasquez
"They don't want you Mr. Wade."
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"Who are they?"
Jules Vasquez
"Someone in the executive of the party, perhaps the old guard wing of the party does not want you to run. They have their blue-eyed boy they want run and that's Arthur Saldivar."
Jerome Wade, PUP Aspirant - BZE Rural North
"Well we will see what the people of Belize Rural North wants Jules. I am not asking for any special privileges, I am not even asking for anybody to want me or to not want me. all I want is a free convention my brother, that's all."
After the public flap about Wade and the closed list the PUP has agreed to have open conventions going forward.
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