On October first 2009, Mayor Zenaida Moya Flowers gave the interview heard, it seemed, around the world. That's the day she became the first elected official to be charged for alleged misconduct in her public duties. She was also nursing her month old son….and outside the courtroom, Belize's first female mayor exploded. Here's that unforgettable outburst:…
Mayor Zenaida Moya,
"I feel that somebody doesn't have balls when they are going to come after me when I am on my bed delivering a child. That is how foolish it is. When I am delivering a child, they think I am…that weak that I wouldn't have come up. Well you know what, I am a strong woman, everybody knows I am a strong woman, and they will see. This will play out and they will see that I have done nothing wrong but be a strong woman who would have anybody dictate to her and have her like a little girl. I am not nobody's lee gial. I am nobody lee gial."
Vaughn Gill, Vibes Radio
"Are you going to continue serving while the charges are in the court?"
Mayor Zenaida Moya,
"Yes of course I will."
Jules Vasquez,
"Will you remain a UDP if you say the leader is out to get you?"
Mayor Zenaida Moya,
"I am a UDP. Nothing has changed. If the leader, that is one man, and he may have some of his minions who will try to discredit me."
And for those words, Mayor Moya was eventually expelled from her party. And then in January, she appealed the expulsion and asked for a lesser penalty. The appeal was upheld and she got that lesser penalty: from expulsion it went down to a year's suspension, which runs from May of last year to May of this year. But there are preconditions: First, she had to withdraw all legal action against the party in court, and then she had to publicly apologize.
And that was published in today's Guardian. The letter says, "On October 1st. 2009, I made certain statements…in a state of anger…after reflection, I agree that in no way should I have reacted how I did."
It closes by stating: "I therefore apologize for making those statements and unhesitatingly state that it will not happen again."
With all that, you might think that Moya will be allowed to run again…but this is just to get back into the party's good graces since the deadline for application to contest conventions has passed.
But, Moya, determined politician that she is, is still in the hunt it seems, as last night she turned up as a special guest speaker at the Michael Finnegan endorsement convention in the Mesopotamia Division last night.
The convention - advertised only by word of mouth - drew a good crowd and was held on Amara Avenue in front of Finnegan's divisional office.
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