7 News Belize

Is Mayor Bradley Double Dipping?
posted (August 27, 2012)
As those projects show, you can't fault the mayor for ambition or execution - actually you can't fault him for much at all. In just a few months in office, his council has paved about 20 streets with concrete - and there are plans to pave many more.

The Municipal Bond bill went to the house for a first reading last week - and the prospectus will be launched shortly. Indeed, the entire culture at City Hall seems to have been transformed in a short time, and as well corruption has been discouraged, making Darrell Bradley a model elected official.

But might there be a chink in Mayor Bradley's otherwise impervious armor?

Jules Vasquez thought so, and he brought it up with the mayor today.

Here's how their conversation went:...

Jules Vasquez
"I have seen you in court since being elected and some people frowned on it."

Darrell Bradley - Mayor, Belize City Council
"Some people have frowned on it?"

Jules Vasquez
"Yes have frowned on it that as an elected public official and one that's being paid for fulltime work. I know you are not being paid like you were as a lawyer. However some people have frond on it saying that as an elected official and as a senior elected official perhaps you shouldn't be in court. Explain what's your rationale and how you manage this."

Darrell Bradley - Mayor, Belize City Council
"Well I still do some legal work. I try as best as possible to stay away from court. It's not something that I do very often. I have attorneys who have taken most of the litigation work that I was involved in prior to being elected, but some of these matters drag on and the matters which are ongoing - I am still involved in. I try to ensure that the maximum focus is the City's business and being at City Hall, but I do do court work."

Jules Vasuez
"Are you taking on new work?"

Darrell Bradley - Mayor, Belize City Council
"I do take on new work that is non-litigious, not involving court."

Jules Vasquez
"Speaking plainly, as the mayor your approved salary is probably in the $60,000 range. As an attorney I would image you used to make (and we are not telling tales out of school) in the 6 figure range, I would imagine or close to it. So you took a significant pay cut in order to be mayor?"

Darrell Bradley - Mayor, Belize City Council
"Yes."

Jules Vasquez
"And you feel a need to supplement your income?"

Darrell Bradley - Mayor, Belize City Council
"I am an attorney by profession and persons had ask me about this before election and don't think that it's something that's really out there but persons had ask me and I had advocated a model of city government which we're presently implementing here. The city administration has significant amount of managerial staff; we have a city administrator, we have managers for our various departments and so I really see the city as operating more of board of directors. Of course you must have a fulltime, you must have an on the ground hands on mayor because the mayor is the leader of the ship and that's very essential. In terms of the overall operatus I see the City Council operating as a board of directors setting policy as oppose to being somebody who is a manager in City Council micro-managing the operators of the organization."

Jules Vasquez
"If you are able to achieve all that you set out to and a lot of that hinges on the success of the bond - you may well go down as the greatest mayor in modern history in terms of accomplishments. There is no shame in that or no need to fane humility on that. If you achieve it, if you don't you will just be another disaster. But my point is after all that if you achieve what you set out to do, will you be seeking another term in office or a fulltime life in politics - maybe moving on to general elections?"

Darrell Bradley - Mayor, Belize City Council
"I don't have any intentions to make politics my career. I love being an attorney, I love the practice of law - it's difficult juggling being in politics and family life. I am expecting a baby. It has been difficult and I've express to persons that this is not something that I really would want to continue for a long period of time. I do believe that persons in public life are really private citizens first and foremost and you go into public office, you make your contributions, however short that contribution is and then you leave and go back to private life to allow others people who have better ideas than you to come in and make their contribution. "

The Mayor's take home salary is about $4,600 dollars per month, which works out to about 55 thousand dollars a year - significantly less than an attorney of his caliber would normally make. He told us that he is strictly opposed to any salary increase for elected officials at the council at this time.

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