Tagbilaran Mayor Dan Lim yesterday said his team is more preoccupied with the work cut out for them in the next three years than the campaign.

“We want to hit the ground running so we are preparing for the urgent tasks ahead,” he added.

The mayor is “very optimistic” about the chances of his team in the May 10, 2010 elections.

Lim is bringing back ex-Vice Mayor Nuevas Tirol -Montes as his running mate.

Also on board are reelectionists Edgar Bompat, Leonides Borja, Lucio Balbin and Nerio Zamora II, returning Councilor George Olario and newcomers Dr. Benjamin Galia, lawyer Doni Piquero, Lucille Lagunay, Engr. Vicente Loquellano and John Geesnell Yap II.

“We like the response we are getting from our constituents so we are now going to work,” the mayor added.

Lim said his performance in his last two terms have been positively received by most residents in the city.

The mayor noted that the negative publicity he is getting has not affected the people’s support for a third term.

“This is a good sign because normally a bad press spells doom for a candidate,” he added.

The reassurance that he gets almost daily from the people is the reason for his optimism that his team will prevail in next year’s election.

He even acknowledged that he is again pursuing his desire to accomplish what he eluded him the last time.

“We are definitely going for a sweep,” the mayor admitted.

Lim said that certain factors made him realize the possibility of pulling the sweep this time.

First, he pointed to the solid performance of his first two terms particularly the pro-people programs that benefited the people.

Secondly, he is getting good reviews for the powerhouse team that he put together under the Nationalist People’s Coalition banner.

Third, the mayor said is the poor quality of the opposition.

“They have a hard time convincing the people that it has a fighting chance so the bandwagon effect is already here even before the campaign starts,” he noted.

Lim said the high expectations have prompted him to start work early in preparing the new members of his team for the urgent responsibilities that lie ahead.