Joel Martinez remains at the helm of the Port-of-Spain City Corporation. At a ceremony this afternoon at City Hall, Martinez was unanimously elected and subsequently sworn in as Mayor of the city. He will serve alongside Hillan Morean, PNM Councillor for St Anns River North, who was also unanimously re-elected as Deputy Mayor.
In remarks at the ceremony, Martinez said he intends to continue the mandate of "getting people back into the city". He said the last council did all possible to serve the people but this did not occur without issues. Regardless, he said, these issues were resolved with his help.
Mayor Martinez said it is his goal to ensure "the city doesn't close at 5 pm." Part of that plan is "to see a twinning of Port-of-Spain and Shanghai". Admitting that the task could be daunting at times, Martinez said he looks forward to a second season.
Martinez is the 47th Mayor of Port-of-Spain. He and the rest of the council will serve for three years.
He was also sworn in as an alderman alongside three others—Wade Coker, Asha Permanand and Wendell Stephen.
The ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, Finance Minister Colm Imbert, National Security Minister Stuart Young and Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein.
Hosein warned members of the new council that there would be no honeymoon period and they should "not fall in love with the job" but should instead ensure they are"always be accessible to the people."
"You cannot please the people from an office," he added.
Hosein said he plans to meet with the Port-of-Spain Mayor at least once a month.