Election candidates rush to Hollywood

WHILE many seek fame and fortune in Hollywood, Los Angeles, a record number of people will be seeking their political fortunes at Hollywood in Point Fortin on August 14 in the local government elections. This was seen when the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) on Monday in TT's daily newspapers published a 74-page paid advert, Notice of Taking of a Poll, detailing the candidates for each electoral district and their respective parties.

Within the Point Fortin Borough Council, the electoral district of Hollywood in Fanny Village has attracted a whopping five candidates.

These are Irvin Felix independent (house symbol), Allison La Foucade (PEP), Keon Taylor (NTA), Amber Wharton (MSJ) and Christopher Wright (PNM).

Four-way fights are expected in 11 electoral districts across Trinidad.

For the Port of Spain City Council, two seats will each see a four-way fight.

For Belmont East, incumbent councillor Nicole Young will be seeking to fend off three challengers, namely PEP chairman Felicia Holder, the UNC's Lianna Babb-Gonzales who has vied before, and the PDP's Kayreen Fields. Down the road, in St Ann's River Central the PNM's Esther Sylvester will seek to defend her seat from the PDP's Afeisha Duke, NTA's Kenny Lee, and PEP's Dion Porter.

The newly-designated Diego Martin Borough Corporation will see a four-way fight in its electoral district of Glencoe/Goodwood/La Puerta. The candidates will be the PNM's Amber Caines, THC's Zafir David, PEP's Melissa Khan and UNC's Marsha Walker (who had challenged the Prime Minister in his Diego Martin West seat in the 2020 general elections.)

Two seats in Point Fortin will each see a four-way fight. The New Village seat has candidates from the PEP, PNM, UNC and MSJ, while the Techier-Guapo seat has candidates from the NTA, PEP, MSJ and PNM.

For the Princes Town Regional Corporation, the seat of Ben Lomond/Hardbargain/Williamsville will see a four-way fight between the PDP, PNM, UNC and PEP.

In the pivoting Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, two electoral districts will each be contested by four candidates. The Sangre Grande South seat will be fought over by candidates from the PNM, PDP, PEP and UNC. The Valencia West seat will also be sought by four candidates- PDP, independent (clock symbol), UNC and PNM.

In the San Juan/Laventille Corporation, four candidates will seek the Febeau/Bourg Mulatresse seat – PNM, UOTP (Unity of the People), PDP, UNC.

Within the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation, in the marginal seat of Caura/Paradise/Tacarigua incumbent UNC councillor Prakash Bharath will be challenged by PEP's Roshni Bridgemohan, THC's LeShawn Gopee, and the PNM's Reginald Gregg.

Other seats are either two-way or three-way contests.

Several notable names crop up in the election notice. New National Vision (NNV) founder Fuad Abu Bakr is PDP candidate in Belmont North and West against the PNM's Malouis Bourne and UNC's Chantal Subero.

Marcus Girdharrie, former UNC councillor for Marabella/Vistabella on the San Fernando City Council, will seek re-election to the seat by representing the PNM, in contest against the UNC's Sasha Ali, in a two-horse race. Also up for a one-on-one contest will be another former UNC councillor turned PNM in the person of Sheldon "Fish" Garcia, fighting the UNC's Nigel Moses for the Arima Central seat on Arima Borough Council. In the Couva Tabaquite Talparo Regional Corporation, chairman Henry Awong will seek to defend his seat of Piparo/San Pedro/Tabaquite - against the PNM's Simonetta Williams – one of the country's few elected chairmen of a corporation, most of whom are appointed aldermen.

In a statement on June 27, the EBC said 141 seats will be contested by 373 candidates, variously representing ten political parties plus six independent candidacies.