First-time local government reps turn out for Tunapuna/Piarco

Several of the candidates filing nomination papers in the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation are putting themselves up for local government for the first time.

At the UTT Valsayn Campus, UNC candidate for Kelly Village/Warrenville Kamla Phagoo and PNM candidate for Valsayn/St Joseph Aviea Isaac said this was the first time they were running for positions in local government.

Phagoo said she felt awesome and stood ready with her party to forge forward to secure TT.

“This is my first time, I put myself forward because I’m ready to serve. I think it’s my time to help and do justice and to serve and to make sure the people who live in the district are very secure and we can bring back our country to the UNC.

“I am big on education and I believe once we have a proper education for our people, it will help them to promote themselves so they will have a better way of living and a better way of life. I want to create programmes within the districts that will help families, women, men, dropouts, so I want to move forward with a lot of programmes.”

Isaac said filing her nomination papers was a smooth process, as she was prepared.

“I had all my documents ready, it was just a matter of doing process and due diligence. I’m excited about going up for local government because I actually live in the area of Valsayn/St Joseph, so I understand the need for change, and that’s why it’s so important for us to focus on local government reform and that’s what I’m trying to bring to my community and the other communities within the district.”

They were confident of their chances of succeeding, and looked forward to working for the betterment of their communities.

UNC candidates Richard Rampersad and Seema Ramsaran-Augustine were returning to contest their electoral districts of St Augustine South/Piarco//St Helena and Valsayn/St Joseph for the first and second time respectively.

Rampersad said he was excited about being declared the UNC’s candidate for St Augustine South/Piarco/St Helena.

“I’m very excited, because once successful, and I have all confidence that I would be, this would be my second term as councillor for this district, and I think one good term deserves another, and I’m excited to hit the ground and continue the good work I would have started.”

Ramsaran-Augustine said she has served two terms as the councillor for her electoral district and look forward to returning.

“Today I’m proud to be the candidate for Valsayn/St Joseph and I’m definitely sure we’ll bring it home again. I’m anxious and eagerly waiting after election day to continue working with the communities within my district. I have been doing a lot of work thus far and I’m anxious to continue that work that I’ve started.

“I’ve been doing community work for years and you have to be on the ground, you have to help the community with their different needs, and I want to continue my work. This is the next level of my life, that I can be their voice and represent them. The people I deal with now as a councillor are the same people I used to work with when I was doing community work.”

At the Upper El Dorado Community Centre, PNM candidates John-Boyd Briggs and Trudel Noreiga filed nomination papers for Auzonville/Tunapuna and Maracas/Santa Margarita respectively. Both were entering local government for the first time.

Briggs said it felt good to put himself forward to serve his community.

“I’ll start campaigning on the ground today. This is my first time going up for election. I’ll be campaigning on local government reform, and I think reform is important so that better service can be offered to all the people in the community.”

Noreiga said he was pleased to have been nominated by his party.

“This is my first time throwing my hat into the election ring and I anticipate the upcoming weeks and hopefully to be selected to represent my community in the best capacity I can. This morning there were a few difficulties but nothing we couldn’t overcome, but I thank God for all those blessings and thank God we were able to overcome despite the difficulties.”

The filing process seemed to be slow at each polling station visited by Newsday, with candidates taking over an hour to submit their papers.

Local government elections are scheduled for August 14.

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Several of the candidates filing nomination papers in the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation are putting themselves up for local government for the first time.

At the UTT Valsayn Campus, UNC candidate for Kelly Village/Warrenville Kamla Phagoo and PNM candidate for Valsayn/St Joseph Aviea Isaac said this was the first time they were running for positions in local government. They were confident of their chances of succeeding, and looked forward to working for the betterment of their communities.

UNC candidates Richard Rampersad and Seema Ramsaran were returning to contest their electoral districts of St Augustine South/Piarco//St Helena and Valsayn/St Joseph for the second time. They were also confident of their chances.

At the Upper El Dorado Community Centre, PNM candidates John-Boyd Brigges and Trudel Noreiga filed nomination papers for Auzonville/Tunapuna and Maracas/Santa Margarita respectively, both for the first time.

They also expressed eagerness to work for and with their communities.