Garcia credits 'down to earth' reputation for Arima Central win

Councillor-elect for Arima Central Sheldon Garcia credited his years of working and interacting with the residents of his community for his victory at the local government by-elections on Monday.

Speaking with Newsday on Tuesday, Garcia, who was the UNC's candidate, said he was pleased with the results and thanked the community for their support and encouragement during his campaign.

He also vowed to continue being a "man of the people" once he was sworn in and promised to address the concerns of all residents.

"I want to be the councillor that makes a difference. I won't be working behind a desk, I want to be interacting with the people on the ground as much as possible, which is something I have been doing for the past 20 years."

He said his main objectives as councillor would be to repair playing fields and create youth athletic programmes.

Garcia has worked as a school bus driver in Arima and has run several football clubs in the community, which he said had helped him build a rapport with the residents, something he said gave him an advantage over his PNM opponent, Dr Juliet Hilary Bernard.

Contacted for comment, Bernard said she was surprised by the results of the election, but had done her best during her campaign and would not change her strategy if given the chance to repeat it.

She said she was grateful for the support, but felt most of the public did not understand the role of a councillor and the purpose of local as opposed to central government.

"Most people just see elections, and when it comes to campaigning, very few people spoke about getting their roads or sidewalks paved. Few people spoke about street lights working.

"People's issues were national things – water availability, crime, jobs, houses – so I cannot say the people holding this seat before fell short in terms of their abilities as a councillor."

Bernard also said she hoped the voting majority were not swayed by empty campaign promises, as they may be disappointed.

She also said up to Tuesday afternoon she did not have any information on whether the results would be contested.

Asked if this was the end of her political aspirations, Bernard said she was "resting and reflecting."

"I'm still going through that reflection. My thrust is really to look to development of my community and town, and if it can only be done through a political avenue, then I will always have that under consideration for development."

Bernard served on the Arima Borough Council from 2013-2015 before taking a break from politics.

Contacted for comment, former Arima Central councillor and current D'Abadie/ O'Meara MP Lisa Morris-Julian said for now the party would "look (at) and analyse" the results.