McField derides local parties
(CNS): The party system in the Cayman Islands is pointless says Dr Frank McField an independent candidate for George Town and former UDP member. Speaking at last night’s Chamber Forum he pointed out that political parties should be much more that groupings formed to serve people’s political ambitions and own interests as they are in Cayman. He said real political parties had ideologies and value systems that were different. In Cayman he noted the candidates beliefs were much the same and the party system was just not necessary.
Answering a question about political cooperation at the Chamber Candidates District Forum in George Town on Tuesday (28 April) at the Family Life Centre he explained that Cayman’s political groupings were not real political parties. “What we have are not true political parties,” he said. “Political parties are more than people organised for their political interests and that’s what we have. So what differentiates one party from the other is just the leadership or the personalities of the individuals within the organisation. I don’t have a problem working with any of them as there are no ideological differences or value differences they are only in these groups for their political advancement.”
He said that the idea of the Westminster system being institutionalized in the Constitution was problematic when people didn’t understand that the political party system was created to advance ideological objectives. McField added that Cayman was, “not pursuing any particular ideological objectives – so why is it then that it is seen that political party behaviour here should be institutionalized?”
Sitting on the same platform was Derrington Bo Miller another independent candidate who also notedthere was no need to put labels on people in Cayman and that people should be able to go to the polls on 20 May and vote for fifteen people. He said the party system had caused division among countries in the region and he wanted to see a national ballot. Miller said as so few people had joined the parties it was clear they didn’t subscribe to the system.
Not surprisingly however, the Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts who was also on the panel had a different view and when asked who he would or wouldn’t work with he said that he would never consider not working with anyone despite the fact that the Westminster system did appear a bit adversarial because of government and opposition. “I don’t think anyone of us should ever consider not working with who the people have decided they wanted to elect,” he said adding that they may be differences but that did not mean people couldn’t work together. “At the end of the day we are all Caymanians,” he added.
Former independent candidate in the previous election Ellio Solomon who is now a member of the UDP said he thought there was a need for organisation as it provided policies to the electorate before they were elected instead of “fumbling around” afterwards.
Tackling the question about threats to the financial services Miller said that there were lot of unknown threats but there were more threats from without than within He said Cayman must reinvent itself and come up with new services in the sector and to do that there was a need to tap into the talent already here. He said in the end government can only do damage control and regulate the impetus fro re-invention and change had to come from the private sector.
Tibbetts too told the audience that the threats were evolving and although the grey list was the most pressing, Cayman was facing a new global regime. He said he agreed with Miller that the pool of talent need to be utilized to create the new products we would need to face the new regulatory regime and for Cayman’s Financial services to remain successful. He lauded the partnerships government had with the private sector but avoided any mention of the recent crack in the partnership with CIFSA revealed in the recent letter to the LoGB by the Chair Anthony Travers as reported on CNS.
When asked about procurement and Cayman first policies McField noted the problem Cayman faces with fronting. He said Caymanians should come first but people also wanted quality products. It was pointless to criticize government for employing foreign entities he said but he would when they did it without giving Caymanians the opportunity. But he explained that it was in fact Caymanians that were facilitating the foreign companies anyway as was seen with the contractor at the school in North Side. Caymanians, he said, were partnering the foreign companies to enable them to operate here and meet the criteria. “Without the cooperation of those members of the business community… that allow the foreign companies a foothold in the Cayman Islands there is no point in making any procurement preferences because at the end of the day you put a Caymanian in front but it will still be a foreign entity that benefits.”
McField said not everything could be accomplished by laws a point that Miller agreed with from the point of view that government and legislation was not the answer to everything. Throughout the evening he spoke a lot about the need for more privatization and a reduction in the size of government. “We have become dependent on government for everything,” he said. “We need to downsize government and incorporate private sector expertise before it is too late for them to want to get involved.” Miller noted.
Despite some nit picking between Solomon and Tibbetts the four candidates offered an intelligent debate and some interesting solutions for subjects such as the builder’s law, attracting business to Cayman, tackling red tape, tourism, financial services and many district issues. They all agreed that during the next administration, whatever happened at the polls, there was a need to make government more efficient and reduce the operating budget through cutting waste rather than increasing fees or through new revenue measures.
McField fell short of supporting a national lottery but said it was worth considering the licensing of the exiting numbers game and for government to take fees that way. Tibbetts said that the recent $17 million reduction demonstrated there was room to reduce operating cost without too much pain, though something had to be done about the $64 million health care tab that government picks up every year through CINICO for civil servants and other dependents. He said he did not support a national lottery. Solomon said government had squandered money and exacerbated the situation. He also repeated his colleague Mike Adam’s recent point that he believed a national lottery was just recycling existing money. He said that there were lots of opportunities for inward investment as well as the potential to cut millions of dollars in government inefficiencies. “In these tough economic times,” Solomon said, “when we get through on lemons we need to make lemonade……” (sic.)
Category: Election 2009
To you who said
"NEVER JGUDE A MAN UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED IN HIS SHOSES!!!!" , (I didn’t correct the typos) in regards to Frank’s shameful and humiliating drunken tirade at 3AM on the side of the road… I can’t imagine that would be the image of integrity that Cayman wants as a leader. It only gives more fodder for laughter in the papers for his antics. You need to realize that on a small island, everything you do is up for speculation from the start of a young age. You should be teaching your children the important of carrying yourself to high standards so that when they consider running for government, you don’t have skeletons peeking out as a threat to your campaign. It’s called INTEGRITY!!!
He must have felt so stupid the next morning… Imagine, getting BACK on the road, drunk but not thinking you are, because someone called you to complain about the traffic back up….
That same old attitude, ‘Don’t you know who I am!!?!’ LOL!! He should have moresense than that.
In these tough economic times,” Solomon said, “when we get through on lemons we need to make lemonade……”
Elio…what kind of stupid George Bush type statement is this? Is this the best that the people of GT can expect from you? We already have two useless duncey representatives, so we certainly don’t need any more empty barrels….
Could this be one of the GT independants little menions? Poor sad little person.
Jealously is such an obnoxious trait. Get over it. Some candidates are just more outstanding than the others, intelligence and confidence in one’s abilities is certainly a plus.
This is a classic case of the older supposedly more experienced cowboys being afraid of being toppled off of the horse by the younger more vibrant broncos.
We must change our elected members and the baton must be passed. The time is now, the time is here and we have certainly found a true inspiration in this young man.
Job well done Mr. Solomon.
Bo Miller has the intelligence and experience to move the country forward. George Town is fortunate to have him on the ballot!
“In these tough economic times,” Solomon said, “when we get through on lemons we need to make lemonade……”
Elio…what kind of stupid George Bush type statement is this? Is this the best that the people of GT can expect from you? We already have two useless duncey representatives, so we certainly don’t need any more empty barrels.
No wonder Kurt called you a student candidate…this election is almost over and I still can’t figure out why I should vote for you.
You’re already acting like you’re the Capt. Eugene of GT and you’re not even elected yet!
"[Ellio] you’re already acting like you’re the Capt. Eugene of GT and you’re not even elected yet!".
Ouch! You hit hard, man! LOL.
“Perhaps neither party thinks he is a threat.”
underestimating Bo will be another mistake to add to their loooong list of slips
Ellio Solomon was my choice and a clear winner in this forum. Go Ellio weare behind you 100%.
The PPM will say and do anything to win this election – deperate times calls for desperate measures. Poor People’s Mistake – but not again. See you on the other side UDP
The PPM are clearly at a lost in this election. The leader needs to go and the crew as well.
Go UDP
This debate was the best by far.
I disagree with the statements that Bo was the best – he was clearly feeding off of Mr. Solomon’s answers and most of the time he was lost in thirty years ago. sorry to dissapoint but, we need person who are in the here and now.
As for Dr. Frank – he relates all back to social matters and most of the time I was totally lost on his answers by the time he had completed his answers he was so far off topic that it put the audience to sleep and they forgot what the question was in the first instance.
The Leader should have stood out by a mile on this forum, however on the other hand I believe that he was equelled on some of the his responces, but failed in comparrison to Mr. Solomon.
Mr. Solomon is clearly the most outstanding of this bunch and to make matter worst this bunch are always toting thier experience.
Well done Mr. Solomon – we see why you are the people’s choice. Keep up the good work
Clearly written by a relative! Poor Austin, get ready for Ellio’s return! Guessyou’ll have to take a extended vacation again. At least you have had a few months of peace without having to wrestle for the mike!
You must be joking. Ellio said that "Unilateral" in the "Unilateral Tax Informaton Exchange Mechanism" was proof that the Government was not consultative Frankly, I was insulted that Ellio would think that any intelligent person would fall for that. Reminds me of my school days when those who were legends in their own minds would spout a load of nonsense. Mr. Tibbetts was the clear winner, he could debate this bunch in his sleep and still look good!
Bo Miller is the best choice as he has actually NEW ideas. All party members (PPM & UDP) are to busy slinging mud at each other so that they can’t focus on the real issues at hand.
To the person who claims "Bo is all mouth and no action", I am asking you what have some of other politicians done who had their chance over and over again? Give Bo a chance!
To the people who debate Frank McField – stop wasting your time and energy and focus on the candidates that are actually having a chance of being elected, listen to those candidates, challenge them and make a choice. We all know that Frank McField is just very, very desperate….
What I find interesting is the fact that none of the other candidates have attacked Bo Miller esp the angry udp. This is prob also because mr miller has conducted himself decorously and professionally throughout his campaign. However if ppm or udp had any negatives, I have no doubt they would have thrown it out already.
Bo has my support
"What I find interesting is the fact that none of the other candidates have attacked Bo Miller esp the angry udp. This is prob also because mr miller has conducted himself decorously and professionally throughout his campaign. However if ppm or udp had any negatives, I have no doubt they would have thrown it out already".
Perhaps neither party thinks he is a threat. You can always tell who is perceived as the greatest threat according to the direction of missiles.
Let’s go with Bo!
Fresh blood, new ideas, sensible solutions.
Debate confirmed this.
Ellio is not qualified for MLA. Has no academic qualifications or relevant work experience. he cannot expect to talk his way into an MLA seat because he talked a lot for the past 6 or so years thru Caypolitics website and then Rooster radio – but he is simply not qualified academically or otherwise. Period. That era has passed and todays complex issues need politicians to have both solid education/ and experience.
Dr Frank… you must be kidding did we all forget the parrott days and most recently his drunken and racist behaviour with our police officers. Guy should be in jail not running for government.
I hope that Dr Frank never forgets "the parrot days" or any other problems he faced; but always use them as a reminder of how far he has come. NONE of us is without fault/sin, and the reason many good people are not in jail today is because they w ere not caught…only by God’s grace we stand!!. Dr. Frank hold you head high, you bring hope to many of us who society have give up on.
NEVER JGUDE A MAN UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED IN HIS SHOSES!!!!
Bo Miller is a terrific ideas man. Trouble is he never ever implements anything. He is pure ideas and mouth. It’s very sad because he could be really effective as an MLA but actually doing anything paralyses him.
To the author of ‘Bo Miller is a terrific ideas man’….actually that’s a great compliment. For such a long time we haven’t had anyone bringing ‘terrific ideas’.
However, you’re so way off in your declaration "Trouble is he never ever implements anything. He is pure ideas and mouth." You obviously do not know the man or, this is a deliberate attempt on your part to try to derail the obvious success path that Mr. Miller is on in this Election!I hope you’re not Caymanian, because it is so sad to see Caymanians trying to marginalize each other by placing them in little ‘district boxes’. On this 26-mile Island with approximately 20,000 blood-line Caymanians, we need every brilliant "terrific ideas man" that we have.
I worked with Bo and have personally known him all of his life. People who know Bo Miller, know that he is a no-nonsense, get things done person. In other words, an ACTION MAN.
Bo, you keep on coming up with your terrific ideas..we’ll pay you to do that full-time as our Leader and we’ll also ensure that you have all the ancillary support staff to execute them.
A Leader with a brain brim-full of terrific ideas for helping our country and the support needed to get them executed….sounds like a winning combination to me!!
I am the "Bo is a terrific ideas man" poster and I am a Caymanian. I meant my comment to be a genuine compliment not to do the crabs in a barrel on him.. But many of us who have dealt with Bo over the years know that things remain at the idea level, unless someone else does something with them. He seems to lack the stamina for follow-through. Can you list his accomplishments? That might help your and his case.
I still think he would be a much better candidate in GT than very many of the others he is running against.
BOBO wow!! what great ideas… however can you please list all of your successful business ventures over the past 36 years… I cant seem to recall any of them… your district did not see it fit for you to represent them… So how in the H??? do you think GT will allow you to represent them. I believe your best bet is to bow out and support a worthwhile candidate.
EE,NS,BT,GT,WB all have one thing in common…it’s called the Cayman Islands!!! It matters not which of these district one was born they are Caymanians…so BOBO don’t bow out. You have the right to run in any of these district.
From Caymanian via George Town.
Derrington "Bo" Miller is the clear choice and winner after this debate. He proved once again that he is the change that this govenment needs. He is punctual and realiable (Come one McField 25 minutes late because you were lost…how well do you know YOUR island?) Bo Miller is a thinker and problem-solver with solutions to our problems whereas the other candidates appear to lack any ideas. He has a true vision of the future and is not ashamed to say that some things must change. He is the fresh start that we need to a new government in a scary time in our world. Any one with any common sense will vote for Derrington "Bo" Miller on May 20!
Rolly should be leader but we know that won’t happen with the Big Mac!
Poor Frank…. Hope GT would not make that mistake again!
Poor Frank?. This man is very rich in knowledge in the social ills of these Islands…I hope that GT elects Frank, and allow him to set social service dept on the path that will bring about soluations in the lives of our children and youth.
"This man is very rich in knowledge in the social ills of these Islands…I hope that GT elects Frank, and allow him to set social service dept on the path that will bring about soluations in the lives of our children and youth".
Er, the people gave him the chance to do just that and he failed. He is always full of ideas until he gets into power. Instead, we got "substantial reasons to suspect corruption". He has proved himself to be a liability rather than an asset. I am surprised that he got two people to nominate him.
"Substantial reason to suspect corruption" I am glad that you were honest enough to state it this way; and the key word is "Suspect"…but there was/is no proof?. That is why he can and is running.
You also said that "He has proved himself to be a liability rather than an asset"..So has the PPM and the entier Social Service Departement!!.
You were surprised that he got two people to nominate him…brace yourself for the shook of now many that are going to vote for him.
Have a good day.
"brace yourself for the shook of now many that are going to vote for him".
I can’t wait for the "shook". The only question is whether he will save his deposit.
Of course legally he can run. Morally he should be too ashamed. That is what you call brazen.
GT elect Frank?????
God help us all if they do!
I hope when GT voters go to the polls that day, they don’t even acknowledge Frank McField’s name!
GT elect Frank????…let me tell you what you’re doing; you’re pushing every under dog of GT to elect him…ever heard the saying: "The more you stir the shit the stinker it gets"
Although I dont think Dr. Frank will be elected i can sure agree with him on the lack of ideological differences between the PPM and UDP.
Bo Miller won the debate hands down.
His innovative ideas were well thought out and visionary in comparison to what Frank, Kurt and Ellio (in that order) had to offer.
Bo, i never gave you much thought before as i was inundated with the party propaganda but you have earned my vote to serve.
Good luck!
Kurt & Ellio
Kurt & Ellio were the best; the others were merely there to fill the chairs (suffice it to say Frank was late because he lost his way).
Bo Miller really impressed me at last night’s debate, which I attended in person this time – with the other three dismally behind. Kurt, Ellio then Frank.
Ellio was attacking PPM and then couldn’t respond within the time limit. Kurt’s responses were usually an excuse or explanation about why he hadn’t gotten around to it yet but still planned to do at some future date, maybe. Frank was quoting his sociology thesis, which is his "area" and muddling it up.
Ellio, Kurt and Dr. Frank really are not good at answering their questions and were often just repeating points made by someone else’s answer. That was especially telling for Kurt who is incumbent LoGB. He has nothing else to offer this country, sadly.
Ellio is NOT qualified in my view: he has just been on the radio every day criticizing but barely graduated high school and has no relevant work experience either. He went off contradicting Kurt about passing a "unilateral" TIEA and arguing how that showed the PPm had failed to consult the financial sector. Lol! Very basic point to get wrong. Kurt the statesma, politely corrected him but Ellio’s foppish attitude in arguing a wrong position showed how dangerous he can be.
Franks comments re the political parties was correct but as someone who ran with UDP for political convenience too, its a bit rich coming from him.
Nonetheless, Mr. Miller’s response was more comprehensive than the summary above in this article – and it made sense when he explained the need for one man/one vote national elections.
Tired of the UDP candidates reading the party manifesto at these meetings. Ellio only added some more stupid criticism of PPM but repeated the same lines as Pearlina and Mike at the earlier Chamber forums.
So far for town I am looking at Bo Miller and Wally Whittaker. Not sure if I can find two more to vote for in Town. However, I will be voting for the best people — NOT just blindly following any party. Not again.
Man to the author of "Bo Miller really impressed me" you were on POINT with your all of your comments. I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said!!!!!
I am sooo pleased that there seems to be more people out there reading, listening and researching before simply marking their X for a group of people instead of per each individual on their own merit.
There is still hope for our Country after all!!!!!
I was considering Burns as well because he has been very articulate and on point in his debates but ooooohhh I just cannot shake the Port fiasco and the South Sound shadiness………………..
Kurt Tibbetts is by far the best…..I love Kurt and I love Kurt being the leader of this Country! Makes me feel comfortable and 100% certain that we are in the right hands…..Kurt and PPM – definitely a winning team! Bo Bo, God bless him and his ‘wonderful ideas’ but don’t expect he’s actually thought any of these through or about to actually do anything about them other than talk. Elio, angry, angry….seems to be the UDP strategy! Dr. Frank was entertaining but going nowhere!
I agree!
Ellio & Kurt were the best, and these two definitely deserve the support of the GT voters.
Having listened to last night’s forum and others previously aired, I can understand Dr. Frank’s position on parties. Most candidates appear to agree on what the major issues are and most share similar views on solutions. Therefore, there is no clear difference of ideologies between the two. The overriding concern, however, is figuring out which candidates will be motivated into effective action that would benefit the Cayman Islands as a whole, not just in their respective districts.
Irrespective of parties (I don’t support either) and personalities, here is my wish list for who should comprise the Legislative Assembly come May 21 (in no particular order or ranking):
WB – Rolston Anglin, Cline Glidden, Bernie Bush and Choppy Delapena
GT – Alden McLaughlin, Wally Whittaker and Jonathan Piercy (I vote in GT and these are the only three that have impressed so I’m not sure about a fourth…any suggestions?)
BT – Gilbert McLean, Theresa Lewis-Pitcairn and Charles Clifford (Mark Scotland should have replaced CC but I believe in upholding the Constitution no matter what so I have to scratch him)
NS – Joey Ebanks
EE – Arden McLean
Sister Islands – Moses Kirkonnell and Julianna O’Connor Conolly (Miss Julie by default only because among the others one has criminal tendencies and another is just not qualified enough)
Please note that neither Leader of either Party made my list as I feel both have passed their prime and should step down and let someone else take the helm. For the LOGB, I propose Rolston Anglin. Words cannot express how impressed I am with him. He is a man of experience who takes positions regardless of what his party thinks or endorses. He also demonstrates the ability to work with others and valuing their input as part of the decision-making process.
Neither have I endorsed a clear majority of either party or independents. I am confident that the above individuals are intelligent, passionate and nationalistic enough to come up with solutions to take the country forward.
I doubt it will pan out this way but no harm in wishing 🙂
Shamrock
This was definitely the highest quality debate so far. In my opinion, Bo Miller and Dr. Frank were way ahead on most of the questions. Kurt, was the statesman. I love Kurt – even when he’s under attack he still does his best to stay calm and level-headed.
Elio, sad to say, has already become just an echo of UDP,UDP on and on. This young man had so much to offer it’s sad that he got caught up in the partying.
This is election we must vote for the most qualified, irrespective of whether it’s a party person or an independent. After all, whoever we elect, will be a CAYMANIAN, that’s for certain. So Caymanians let’s do our thing at the Polls – forget the Party system; it’s not working for Cayman. If there is an individual in the party who is good and worthy of your vote, then vote for that person and choose the other vote(s) from the independents.
They will all come together and form the government after the Election. This is not new Cayman – this is how it was always done and it WORKED. As Truman Bodden is so famous for saying, "If it wasn’t broken, why fix it?". Well the truth is our system wasn’t broken and we have wasted the past 8 years trying to "fix it" and look where it has gotten us!
We do not have anymore time for that now – the world around us is dictating that we put our very bext minds to work NOW to help get us through the global recession and save what we have left.
When the Leader of Government, Kurt Tibbetts had completed his final remarks at the forum last night, he turns to Dr. McField and starting talking. They continued talking while Ellio and Bo finished their final remarks. This was verry disrespectfull and I was very disappointed in Mr. Tibbetts behavior. As a Leader of this country I truly expected better behavior.
Shame, Shame on you Mr. Tibbetts. You don’t demostrate leadership qualities!!!!
Dr. Frank, Mr. Miller (Bo)
as always you both delivered a most intelligent debate, I only hope that you will both be elected.
Good Debate!
This was a very good debate, especially between Kurt and Ellio both of whom had the spotlight on them throughout the entire evening.
Having seen the debate I actually believe that Ellio & Kurt could work well together; they tackled the issues (not personalities), and its clear that Ellio has a lot to offer – a sentiment no doubt expressed by Kurt when during the debates he extended his hand to Ellio for a shake, and Ellio without hesitation accepted.
Well done Ellio & Kurt.
Mr. McField’s motive for deriding the parties is that neither of them will have him and his only (desperate) hope of being elected would be if people decided to vote only for independents rather than parties. Some of his comments are accurate though particularly in respect of the UDP (and he should know) where it is all about the personality of the leader of the party.
Mr. Miller’s idea about the adoption of a national ballot would effectively disenfranchise voters in the smaller districts. All MLAs would be determined by the voters in the larger districts: GT, WB and BT. There would be no representation of the people in NS, EE and CB as they will have ceased to matter. A bizarre idea that is best killed in infancy. Mr. Miller seems to have vague ideas that he has not properly thought through. Not a manager type.
While Mr. Solomon is effective as an ‘attack dog’ it is doubtful that he would be an effective manager. Much easier to snipe from the sidelines than to be constructive.
You left no room for the imagination you’re PPM supporter, you fell right into the category … "attack dog"
At least the people he "derides" are not convicted criminals.
What a stupid comment!
“When we get through on lemons we need to make lemonade”. There was a good reason why the rest of his statement was not published; because it makes absolutely no sense! George Towners, is this really a person you think will get the job done for us?
Be smart on May 20th and choose wisely.
Now this is something Frank has said that we can agree with. Him, Gilbert, Lyndon, Linford and Roy are all primary examples of people who joined up with the UDP for their own personal gain.
It’s quite telling that no UDP previous MLA’s were elected last time and none of them are now running with any party this time as well.
People use the parties because they can pool resources together. Means more money and more people to turn out meetings. After that the party falls apart for the next four years.
However, the general consensus from most people is that they will vote for qualified individuals irrespective of party affiliations.
I hear of a plot for the younger UDP members to take over McKeeva if elected. McKeeva had better watch people like Ellio, Mark and Rolston. Trouble is brewing!
Can you imagine that the UDP candidates would be planning something to make this country more unstable at a time like this? Speaks volumes of their self-serving intentions.
You’re entitled to your opinion, but the fact is, one party, the PPM has not fallen apart after the last election. We have continued to function as a leading political organization because we share common principles. We do not agree on everything but we all agree that our aim is to do the best possible for our country so we talk it out, and argue it out and reach a consensus. Then we ACT. Recovery from Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Paloma, the improved education system which is seeing more of our students succeed, 8 tax exchange agreements and the unilateral mechanism which will soon be approved by the OECD, better and new roads, freedom of information and expression without recrimination or victimization, world class sporting facilities for our youth and older sports people, new draft constitution and Cayman Airways still flying strong with its fantastic new logo just didn’t materialize out of thin air and all in just 4 years! Yes, 4 years under our PPM government!
Oh, and did you witness the proactive response by the Government to the H1N1 (swine) Flu? Not much has been said because it was handled well, but it would have been a completely different matter if it was not handled so well. Lets give credit where credit is due, if we would have blamed the PPM government for poor handling of the situation then we should give them credit for when it is handled well.
Don’t Stop the Progress! Vote for the PPM Candidates on May 20th and Vote YES for the New Draft Constitution! In George Town vote 5, 8, 11, 13 and nothing in between!
God Bless!
5 (Alden), 8 (Lucille), 11 (Kurt) , 13 (Alfonso)