US President Joe Biden is no longer running for president and has opted to serve out his current term. He instead pushed for the candidacy for president of his VP Kamala Harris, a woman of color. Biden has long been asked by many of his party mates in the Democratic Party to withdraw, given his age. By voluntarily doing so, Biden prevented a showdown with the other presidential wannabes in the Democratic National Convention. Even then, whoever will be the presidential and vice presidential bets of the party will only be known after the convention.
The Republicans already have the Donald Trump-JD Vance pairing. While Trump is old, he is at least three years younger than Biden. And he is leading in the polls after a good showing in a recent debate with Biden and surviving an assassination attempt. With Biden’s withdrawal, the stage is set for the Democrats nominating a younger candidate against Trump, whether that will be Harris or not.
Which brings me to the election for mayor in Cebu City. The acting mayor is Raymond Alvin Garcia who may or may not run for mayor in 2025. The elected mayor, Michael Rama, who has been preventively suspended, has already announced that he would run for mayor in 2025. He is already nearing 70 years old. He might be challenged by former mayor Tomas Osmeña, who is in his 70s. In contrast, Raymond is the son of another former mayor, Alvin Garcia, which means that he is much younger than either Rama or Osmeña.
But while Raymond is younger, he is by no means a slouch, having been a politician for years already. He started off as a barangay politician, then went on to become a city councilor and then vice mayor for several terms. He can therefore put up a formidable challenge to more established politicians like Rama and Osmeña.
Raymond’s aunt is Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, who is at odds with Rama on many issues involving Cebu. Mike’s relation with Raymond, his vice mayor, has also been strained since the latter assumed the post of acting mayor. Will the said political dynamics spill out to the 2025 elections? That’s an interesting point to monitor as the filing of the certificates of candidacy nears.
Being acting mayor should have pushed Raymond to political maturity of sorts. The post best puts him in a position of control over Cebu City, which is good if one intends to make a run for the mayorship. Add to that the rumors that another suspension is coming Rama’s way. Being the sitting mayor is always an advantage for any mayoral bet. If Raymond has any plans to become elected Cebu City mayor, the most favorable time to realize that plan is during the 2025 election.
Unfortunately, Raymond seems to have hit a bump with the controversy over the recent handling of the Palarong Pambansa, which Cebu City hosted. He seems to need to mend fences with the Cebu media. I was with the City Hall beat when Raymond’s father, Alvin, was mayor. One thing I can say is that Mayor Alvin was always friendly with us reporters at that time.