‘None of them could take me on!’ – Chase Green challenges councillors, threatens legal action

Last Updated on Monday, 27 March 2017, 19:16 by Denis Chabrol

Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase-Green today, March 27, sternly warned and even threatened legal action against city councillors, whom she accused of making false accusations against her in the public.

During a four-hour marathon statutory meeting, the last for this mayoral cycle, Chase-Green said, “I could challenge each and every councillor in here if y’all want and none of them could take me on.”

Chase-Green’s words seemed to receive the support of some of her colleagues associated attached to the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).

The Georgetown Mayor, whose name has been in public for adamantly endorsing the controversial parking meter project, said a number of allegations were made against her that she was engaged in financial irregularities.

She triumphantly declared that none of those allegations has since been proven. The mayor said she is issuing a warning, as of today, for those councillors to desist from making false statements against her.

Things took a much somber tone when she turned to her family, urging councillors to refrain from mentioning her family members. “I am the mayor, not them,” Chase-Green declared.

The Georgetown Mayor’s son was recently involved in an incident in which he was shot and robbed earlier this month. Her 46-year-old son, Richard Mittelholzer, had received a gunshot wound to his abdomen and was treated at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

Chase-Green, who recently returned from an overseas visit to the United Nations, said she will bring legal action against councillors, or even use the provisions of the Municipal and District Councils Act to have them removed from statutory meetings or even the City Hall compound.

She singled out People’s Progressive Party councillor Bishram Kuppen, and Deputy Mayor Sherod Duncan, who have both been outspoken critics of the Mayor.

Duncan was not present at the meeting today, which is the last such meeting for his time as Deputy Mayor. By the next statutory meeting, a new Mayor and Deputy Mayor would be sworn in.

Last year during council’s internal elections, Chase-Green copped the title once again and will serve for the next year as Mayor. Duncan was initially prepared to contest against her, but pulled out of the race at the last minute.

Councillor Lionel Jaikarran of the Alliance For Change will serve as the next Deputy Mayor.

During Chase-Green’s rants today at the statutory meeting, Georgetown Town Clerk Royston King chimed in to discredit not only those councillors whom he said were engaged in defaming the mayor and city council, but also a number of media houses.

King did not specifically name media houses, but alluded to media houses that have agendas which reduce public confidence in the city council.

City councillor Malcolm Ferreira, for his part, made a passionate plea for those in council to push positive news coming out of the council, and to desist from sharing information on social media, especially when they know such information to be false or flawed.

Ferreira said in 2018 the council will be judged as a collective, and not as individually. He said it is only in respective constituencies that councillors will be judged individually, but whatever is said about the full council affects them all.