Dr. Candice Pitts

Dr. Candice Pitts is a strong, determined and qualified candidate who has seen the chronic neglect of the people of Mesopotamia. She has become the voice of the downtrodden, a catalyst for real change and a dynamic force to empower all residents, but particularly single mothers and youth in the community.

Candice attended Port Loyola Pre-school and St. John’s Vianney Primary School before graduating from Pallotti High School and attaining her Associate Degree from St. John’s Junior College. She then went on to attain her B.A. from Albany State University (summa cum laude), her M.A. from The Ohio State University, and her Ph.D. from Howard University. She has published scholarly articles in international journals, such as Wasafiri, College Language Association Journal, Journal of West Indian Literature, and International Research Review. She is a scholar and creative writer who has won several literary prizes for her works. She has also presented at and participated in numerous conferences and conventions globally, including in China, Japan, France, England, The Bahamas, Jamaica, and Trinidad, and a Woman in Foreign Affairs forum in the White House in the USA.

She is an elected member and current Councillor of the Belize City Council, with responsibility for Foreign Affairs, Women, Children and Families, NGOs and After School Programs. She is also the PUP standard-bearer for the Mesopotamia Constituency.

Candice believes in the doctrine of social justice and was inspired to return to Belize determined to contribute to national development and the transformation of her City and community.  She is founder and Chairperson of Astral Scholarship Program, a program created to help students from the Southside of Belize City attend and graduate from high school. She is fully committed to the real growth of Mesopotamia, a growth led not by political clinics and handouts, but by providing opportunities to meaningful employment and by empowerment. She is intent on changing the face of Mesopotamia, and she is the only choice for the division.