Anthony Mahler Says Pickstock Will Remain Blue

Last week, Moses “Shyne” Barrow started making moves to confirm the candidacy of several standard bearers for the upcoming elections under the United Democratic Party (UDP). Among them was Dean Samuels, Barrow’s pick to go up against Pickstock’s current representative, Anthony Mahler. 

Mahler says he isn’t concerned. Speaking confidently this morning on Open Your Eyes, Mahler is sure that victory is already within reach.

In 2020, Mahler flipped the division to blue and claimed victory in Pickstock with an overwhelming 1,996 votes against UDP’s “Boots” Martinez. This five-to-one margin is Martinez’s biggest defeat at the polls yet. This was a major contrast to 2015, when UDP’s Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington held onto the seat, narrowly defeating PUP’s Francis Smith by just 78 votes.

“We wiped out Boots in 2020. I would have liked a bit more of a fight,” Mahler said. This time around, he says “the fight” against Samuels might offer an easier win. Mahler said, “We had a tsunami in 2020,” adding that this time “the tide looks like it’s even higher.”

“I don’t want to sound arrogant or anything, but that’s the reality,” Mahler added.

Mahler said that he had hoped for a strong opposition to come out swinging this election year. He said, “I wanted the ‘opposition,’ or ‘oppositions,’ to be in fighting form so that we could know who the real man or woman is.”

Mahler says that with the PUP’s momentum firmly in place, many “people say we’re going to win more” this time around.

Just like the Prime Minister John Briceño, Minister Mahler did not give a hint of a possible day when elections could be called. But, “You can already feel the momentum building, and you know that election day is coming soon,” he said.