And, so, while there is the political dispute over the way Mayor Bernard is funding street works in the Orange Walk Town, they also can't agree on who's the better municipal leader. Bernard succeeded Phillip De La Fuente in his first term in office, and to hear them tell it, there's a huge disparity what the Council's finances looked like.
Here's the back and forth between the two Mayors, for you to decide:
Phillip De La Fuente, UDP Mayoral Candidate - Orange Walk
"They roll through that first 3 years using all the machinery, all the resources and everything that I had left. He invested nothing for that first 3 years that he was in there. The people of Orange Walk knows me from every corner of Orange Walk. They knows me and they have pledge their support for me."
Kevin Bernard, PUP Mayor - OW
"Over $80,000 of unpaid social security debts was left by Mayor Phillip De La Fuente. Over $25,000 of income tax debt was left by Mayor Phillip De La Fuente. Over $110,000 of an overdraft account that was never settled, plus interest that amounts to almost $180,000 was left Mr. De La Fuente. A De Mars contract that did not go through the legal process within the council. No resolution was ever past. Of $120,000 we had to pay. A debt left there by Mr. De La Fuente."
Phillip De La Fuente, UDP Mayoral Candidate - Orange Walk
"Paving some streets is good, He has been there for 2 terms. The first term I don't know what he did."
Kevin Bernard, PUP Mayor - OW
"We were paying your bills Mr. De La Fuente. But at the same time we did not sit on our laurels, we sat down, we got up and we work this town and we were able to improve the lives of the people. That is why the people in Orange Walk gave us a second term."
Phillip De La Fuente, UDP Mayoral Candidate - Orange Walk
"If the people of Orange Walk could ask for example, what has been done with the two garbage compacter trucks that were left there under my tenure, was left there for the service to the people of Orange Walk. I don't know what the answer will be. The machinery and everything is next to nothing."
Kevin Bernard, PUP Mayor - OW
"When we got into office in 2012, you know where the compacter truck was? Had no tire, had no engine. In fact part of one of the compacter truck was totally broken down. We had to bring that up back. The grader was all in Shipyard, broken down. The backhoe was in disrepair. We brought those things back up. Yes he may have purchased these old unreliable machinery and brought them to the town council, it is this council who invested lots of money to bring back these machinery to where it's now working. We worked those machinery."
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