ULAA: Mariah Seton's Quest For The Top
A Campaign To Cure ULAA's Woos
By Patrick Nimely-Sie Tuon
Editor/Publisher
About Liberia Today
For the past several years, Dr. Mariah Seton has been playing a supportive role in various ULAA administrations, a period many of her supporters say she used to diagnosed the various problems affecting the organization, and now they believe it is time that the good doctor herself get into the driver’s seat to lead the efforts to cure ULAA’s woos. While in its more than 30 years history, ULAA has had two female presidents, but the case of Dr. Seton is said to be a special one for which it seems to be raising a lots of eyebrows.
Dr. Seton, or Mariah, as she’s commonly known, will be the first female seeking the ULAA presidency under what could be a serious public scrutiny. After making name for herself in the eyes of both her supporters and foes, the Seton quest for the ULAA presidency is no ordinary thing.
So what is Mariah bringing to the 2008 ULAA campaign? Among many of her qualities is her populous appeal that has earned her many admirers. Many of them have made no secret of their desire of her becoming president of ULAA. Since declaring her intentions for ULAA’s top job, not a day you visit the various Liberian listservs that you won’t find one of her supporters publicly declaring their support for her. Among many of her supporters, who just couldn’t keep it in, is Bishop Bennie Warner, former vice president of the Republic of Liberia. This daily display of support earned Dr. Seton the top spot on a pre-campaign poll conducted on the About Liberia Today website. Another quality that is serving as a magnet drawing people to her is her deep commitment towards those who she supports. As one of her supporters puts it, she will go anywhere to show her support for whosoever in her corner.
With the waves of women's power engulfing global politics, the Seton supporters feel ULAA, as an organization, can not escape this tidal wave, and will eventually be headed by a woman this time around, and with the almost confidence, they believed Dr. Seton is the one. Sources near the Seton campaign are hinting that Mariah's greatest asset will be the impressive campaign team she’s putting together. This is not a campaign team of bunch of interest groups, with each having their own agenda, but a team of admirers and those who believed she has the cure for ULAA's problems. The Seton campaign team is said to be studying various issues that could confront their candidate in the campaign, and is preparing to take each of those issues head on. Many are surprised that as early in the campaign that individuals wanting her to win are wasting no time expressing their support publicly.
While Dr. Seton seems to have lot of great assets necessary to run a great campaign, but the ULAA electoral process is one which comes down to few delegates, many of whom are picked by chapter presidents. When those who created ULAA delegates oriented electoral system set it up, they failed to include mechanisms that could make the system more fairer. For instance, coming up with a uniformed way by which delegates should be selected. As a candidate coming from the mid-west going against two opponents from the delegate-rich northeastern region, Mariah could be facing a tough fight. A long time ULAA activist and a supporter of Dr. Seton averred that the Seton team must be vigilant and be ready to challenge every decision affecting the election that may appear as being unfair. With the surge in interest about the up coming ULAA elections, the issue of reforming ULAA could take center stage, something which the Seton team is saying it welcome because her campaign will be all about change.
Finally, while the campaign team will be keeping a watchful eye on the electoral process, the doctor herself must deal with one more challenge, which is holding on to her current waves of supporters as she dwell deeper and deeper into the various Liberian communities to get more supporters, which means she will meet people she once had problems with or who had problems with her in the past. There is no doubt that her candidacy could ignite past animosity. How she deals with these eventualities could make or break her campaign. Can she convince many of her foes she disagreed with in the past that she’s now politically prepared, and go out of her way to reach out to them? The fact that Mariah don’t hesitate to attend the functions of various Liberian groups or events, the process of out reach could be a very easy task for her.
Part Two: Our Series, Introducing The Candidates |
Back to frontpage |
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| Seton Voting At A ULAA Election |
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| Seton In Liberia At US Embassy: Attending A LIHEDE's Malaria Conference |
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| Seton With Fellow Marylanders In The US |
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| Seton With Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf At A Local Event In The US |
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| Seton At A Press Conference In Monrovia During The LIHEDE Malaria Conference |
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