Ariel Saunders: Young servant of the people

When voters in the electoral district of Hindustan/St Mary’s went to the polls to select a new councillor in the January 25 local government by-election, they had the option of voting for 24-year-old Ariel Saunders.

Saunders ran as an independent candidate and although he wasn’t elected to serve, when the results came in on election night his performance was noteworthy.

Of the 2,945 votes cast, Saunders received 669.

He said the results showed people are dissatisfied with TT’s main political parties and there is a fighting chance for independent candidates who are often considered outliers in the political process.

In an interview at his campaign office in St Mary’s, Moruga, Saunders told Sunday Newsday he has never been shy about his intention to one day hold political office. But he’s always wanted to start from the ground-level and work his way up in the local political system.

When the electoral district’s previous councillor Michelle Benjamin vacated office to take up the position of Moruga/Tableland MP, under the United National Congress (UNC), Saunders saw an opportunity.

“I definitely wanted to enter the political system from the lowest level and move up. So, local government was the place to start.

“We started planning this by-election campaign from since August last year (after the 2020 general election).”

As a boy, Saunders was intrigued with local politics and often closely followed past general election campaigns. He admired the style of politicians like former prime ministers Basdeo Panday and the late Patrick Manning.

At UWI, St Augustine, during his undergraduate studies, Saunders did a major in political science with a double minor in international relations and public sector management.

Last year, he completed a professional certificate in sustainable community development at the Arthur Lok Jack School of Graduate Studies.

When Saunders decided to run for local office he had options, as representatives from the two main political parties had engaged him for some time. But he doesn’t see himself fitting into the structure of any of the existing political parties and he decided to take the independent route.

“The established political parties haven’t been particularly interesting to young people or very engaging.

“Young people are used by those parties to win and so the young people, who enter parties, do not really have any decision-making power or influence to bring about the meaningful changes that are necessary in both political parties.”

He also finds what he considers to be the partisan approach to politics by the UNC and People’s National Movement (PNM) unappealing.

No stranger in the St Mary’s community, he has always been actively involved in community work. He did voluntary work when he attended St Mary’s Government Primary School and Cowen Hamilton Secondary School.

In 2012, at 15, he was one of 13 students selected to travel to Washington DC and represent TT at the Partners of the Americas Youth Ambassador Programme.

“Upon our return we had to implement a project. Our project was a leadership and development project in three communities across TT.

“The programme was geared towards conflict resolution, anger management, leadership development skills and environmental consciousness among other things.”

While he understands the value of volunteering to create change within any community, he also considers politics to be one of the highest forms of community service given its importance to policy development.

When Saunders decided to run as an independent, with the assistance of a team of close friends, he launched an exploratory campaign in the electoral district.

For months, he visited different areas to see how people felt about him running for councillor. When the by-election date was announced he was ready for the campaign trail.

His campaign name was Play More Local and said all of the campaign’s operations were funded by small donations.

What was his takeaway from the campaign?

“For starters, the actual condition in which some people live is eye-opening. It’s also eye-opening the level of loyalty that remains to political parties who continue to ignore people.

“There’s a lot of work to be done and I could see that the work has to start with young people who are willing to come up with ideas.

“Another surprising thing would have been the level that both political parties campaigned (against) me as an independent. I was able to gather their attention to a level where I was a prominent theme in both of their campaigns.”

Saunders said his results and feedback on the ground shows there is room for other political parties and independent candidates in TT.

He wants people to move away from the mind-set that third parties or independent candidates are operatives planted to split votes.

“Political parties spread a narrative that should an independent candidate win, there’s nothing that they can do for you. Especially at the local government level, that is very false.

“Parties owe it to citizens to respect their right to choose who they want to lead. People must not be confined to the options that is the PNM and the UNC.”

For people dissatisfied with the main parties, Saunders said it is better for them to vote for a suitable independent candidate rather than not voting at all.

Saunders doesn’t think his age defines his ability to serve and said it’s important for young people to get involved in politics so they can help shape the course of not only their future but the future of others.

“I think a large part about being young and getting into politics is that it helps you to get to determine the type of future you want to have.

“If we sit down too long and wait until we are good enough to get into politics, it may just be too late.”

Despite not being elected, Saunders is committed to serving his community.

He remains a member of the St Mary’s Village Council and is actively involved in his church’s outreach initiatives.

“We (campaign team) have strategic planning meetings for most of February as not only a campaign team but as a team of community activists.

“We did not promise things we could not deliver so a lot of our plans can still be done, though it may be a bit more challenging.”

He is looking forward to starting a project, with different components, which will help young people to develop their skillsets and be better prepared for employment.

In New Grant, Saunders said his team plans to start an agriculture initiative as young people he met on the campaign expressed their desire to grow food to feed their community and earn an income.

When it comes to the next local government election, which is due in 2022, Saunders said he’s here to stay.

“We (the Play team) are going to be active for the next few years. To put it the best way I can, we are going to chip away at this (existing political) system.”