Piercy returns to UDP’s George Town platform
(CNS): The director of the Department of Commerce and Investment has resigned from his post to hit the campaign trail as he makes another bid for a seat in the capital on the UDP ticket. Jonathan Piercy, who is only 36 and one of several younger candidates joining the political fray this year on both sides of the divide, came in 5th place in 2009 and with six seats this year he believes he is a serious contender for a seat in George Town. Although the UDP is facing considerably more difficulties in its fight for office this time around, Piercy said he still believes the UDP is the better way forward.
Speaking to CNS Thursday, the George Towner said he had not "categorically denied" running earlier last month but had been facing sensitivities about his work and had at that point not a made a decision whether he would be returning to the political melee.
However, having made a commitment to return to the UDP political platform, he said he believed he still had strong support in the capital and that he could help the party to victory in what everyone agrees is going to be a hotly contested district.
Piercy will be lining up with incumbents Mike Adam and Ellio Solomon, and, despite continued speculation about the rest of the George Town candidates, Renard Moxham, Rayle Bodden and weatherman John Foster are soon expected to be named as completing the George Town UDP slate.
Although Piercy said there were no guarantees in politics, the young candidate believes he has a good chance even in the face of what will be a crowded field. He said one of the advantages he has is that he is part of a new breed of young educated candidates that have come to the fore this election, which he believes is as a result of his own bid in 2009 when he was only 32.
Dismissing the PPM as weak, Piercy said the UDP may not have done everything it promised while in office but when voters looked at the options they could not allow the PPM to get back in.
Piercy said, “I decided to run again as I cannot stand back and allow a PPM government to return to power as the country is still suffering because of what they did.” Referring to the deficit which the PPM government has been accused of leaving when it left office in May 2009, Piercy hammered home his leader's position that, despite three and half years of the UDP, Cayman's economic woes are still largely as a result of the 2009 deficit and the PPM's so-called over-spending.
While the numbers remain hotly contested and the opposition has continued to point out that the budgets over the last three years were nothing more than fanciful, Piercy said the UDP had reduced the deficit.
He said his return to the political hustings was due to a desire to prevent the PPM from returning to power but he was also critical of the independents running in George Town and he described the Coalition for Cayman as nothing more than “a setup”, adding that voters would get to know the truth about the C4C before the election campaign was out.
However, Piercy saved his most damning criticism for his former party colleagues Rolston Anglin, Cline Glidden, Mark Scotland, Dwayne Seymour and the current premier, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly. Asked if he had considered joining them, he said he could never join forces with a group like that.
He said they had missed a genuine opportunity to demonstrate what it means to be part of a truly unified party when they voted themselves out of office.
Piercy was referring to a no confidence motion that followed the arrest of his party's leader in December on suspension of theft and various corruption offences. He said that it was not the governor who threw the former premier out of office but his own colleagues, adding that the interim government team was no better than the PPM.
He said that McKeeva Bush, despite his difficulties, was still the best man for the job and he believed the UDP would prevail.
Correction: Rayle Roberts, who was erroneously mentioned in this article as a possible candidate, has stated categorically that he is not running for office. CNS apologises to Mr Roberts for the mistake.
Category: Politics
I'm an out of country business man who was/is interested in investment opportunities. I was dealing with Mr. Piercy and his staff. We found him and his staff to be very dedicated to their country. They all have gone out of their way at be helpful in the interest of the Caymans. All I can speak to is his sincere interest and desire to do things for the betterment of the Caymans.
He is still working from his gov't office this week. How can tha be when he's giving political speeches? Typical UDP ….no regard for the law and the rules that require those seeking election to distance themselves from central gov't. Not to mention that he's using our tax dollars to make his call, organise his meetings etc. which is ultimately for his political campain
Piercy, I wish you the best. You're one of the good ones 😉
Boy oh Boy
how can you dissopoint your parents like this,
fooled me once but never twice.
Congrats Jonathan. Yes the party system may have its flaws, but we can never get anything done by a one man show. Anyone thinking they can do so when they get into government is blowing smokes. Jonathan hang in there because you have good UDP folk behind you. Not UDP members are good, just like you would find bad apples in the PPM, but you have yourr vision, and the people of George Town are right behind you. Again, congrats.
CNS could you request a FOI to see if he has been promised his Gov't job back if he does'nt get elected. I bet that Rolston and Dax have undertaken some sort of agreement on behalf of the Gov't so that he'll have a job even if he doesn't get elected. This sort of undertaking is likely to be binding on the Gov't regarless of who gets elected. We have a right to know, don't we?
I was reading the bloggers re: stop the fighting/by kenneth bryan and what scares me about this election
is that it appears its ok for convicted criminals to run for election. This is the highest position to be held in any country and it appears to be taken very lightly in cayman. Look at Jessie Jackson jr. He recently plead guilty for misappropriating campaign funds, do you thing because of who is or his family background that it is ok for him to remain in politics also look at the general? Just saying we haveour issues with existing politicians being under investigation, drunk driving, infidelity and theft yet we want to vote for people knowing well of their backgrounds. A leopard cannot change their spots and do you think for one minute that once these people are voted in, they would not take advantage of their positions as MLAs?
Really? The scariest part of this election for you is Kenneth Bryan running? You should be focussed not on those who have long ago paid their debt to society but those who have yet to be brought to justice on much more serious matters.
Most of the 'bloggers' have exaggerated the matter rather than taken it lightly. The Constitution is quite clear: if you have been convicted of any offence involving dishonesty or any offence for which you have been sentenced to a term of at least 12 months then you are disqualified to run as an MLA for good. Under those rules Jessie Jackson Jr. would be disqualified. Kenneth's offence did not infringe either limb. He was sentenced to 90 days because the judge considered the evidence of the police witness that he did not commit the offence because he was a drug dealer as such but because he was lured to do so with the tacit promise of sex.
The idea that Cayman has lax rules is just plain wrong. Our rules are stricter than some other commonwealth countries, e.g. Australia which requires that the candidate "is under sentence, or subject to be sentenced for a term of one year or longer". In Canada the equivalent rule is that you are only disqualified if you are an actual inmate of a penal institution serving sentences of two or more years . However, if we believe the Constitution is not strict enough then we should amend the Constitution.
The mindset no one can ever turn their lives around for the better writes off people who can make meaningful contributions to their country because of the insights they have gained along the way that other people in their judgmental ivory towers may not have.
But if you really believe that a leopard cannot change its spots then you will have to write off most of the C4C candidates as McKeeva Bush/UDP cronies.
What is frightening about this election is the number of Kool Aid drinkers who believe this investigation into McKeeva is a UK conspiracy because they want to bring down Cayman and it is our patriotic duty to defend him. The scariest part of this election is the possibility that blind loyalty and a split vote may cause McKeeva Bush to be re-elected and return as premier. Now there's a scary thought.
I am disapointed that some one so bright and intelligent choose to run with the lost causes sorry I would have love to vote for you not just becuz you family to me but because I knew you had it but I cant find my self voting for a team that cause so much destruction to one country and put us so far in DEBT…
Have this country at heart, BS, he is American.. Where was you living a year after the last election JP? Tell us, I know.. Power hungry American as far as am concern…
Tell me has JP given up his US passport/Citizenship?
More important, is he current with Unce Sammy????????
“UDP is the Better way forward” you say Jonathan Piercy?
The only way forward will be those Observers that arrived recently & keeping a close eye and taps with you & Ellio. Meaning there will be NO print outs of paper cards come this General Election in May.
I too am very very dissapointed in you Jonathan, I was so sure you were a man of integrity and had hopes that you would be one of those to help Cayman. It is obvious that I was very wrong. You are no different to any of the others, just another Mac puppet and Money Grabber. I voted for you in the last election, so sorry my son not a chance of a vote this time, my family totals 13 votes. Hope you get a job quicker this time around than you did in 2009.
This is one disappointef GT voter, no way you getting my vote again bobo.
Where can I find this mind bending juice that has been poured down the throats of the idiots of the UDP? I want to drink this also so that my mind can be filled with misinformation and vile and bitter thoughts.
Never have I heard or read so much garbage being spewed by UDP lackeys. Can't ever think for themselves. Jim Jones would so proud of such sheep. Follow me.
And the solution for the dump, let us fill the mouths of the lackeys with the garbage. After all, the only thing to come from their mouths is garbage, so lets put ours in theirs. At least it would shut them up. Would be nice to no longer hear from them.
Too tired tonight to write anything sensible tonight………………………..
I would rather vote for Craig brown over you and your crooked team!
JP how can you say PPM put us in this mess? When your party has done worse. Just a reminder your boss is currently under investigation for financial irregularities. How can you join a team of misfits who is responsible for a bunch of XXXXX deals…..answer: you are just like them! Btw whilst we the people were losing jobs, homes, children going to school hungry, your ex premier and band of misfits were coming off a private Lear jet from a tour of gambling you remember that. Such nerve!
We wouldn't have minded if he'd won.
Mac didn't like Chuckie being able to resign and run for office, but as we all know, rules never ever applied to the UDP, so it is no surprize this time around. What will surprize me though, is the number of fools we still have that will give them (UDP and associates) a vote.
He is out of the civil service. He won’t get elected. Win-win situation.
SImple – he and many other newbies are just there to split votes, so the same old same old can get back into office!
Why are people saying that he is a political appointee? Was his government post not advertised prior to him being selected for the job?
Johnothan piercy,
Why would you leave a highly paying job to run with a thousand candidates?
Will you get your job back or have you applied elswhere?This is not funny,
You are young still, why not wait till your retire?
Jobs for educated as well as skilled and unskilled Caymanians do not exist outside of government.
Johnathan take back your resignation, I don't want to disappoint you, but your voice has not been heard all this time and we need to hear from people that have been fighting for the past four years for caymanians making their voices heard. I have not seen one article from you nor heard one comment from you on the airways nor the TV, so that speaks volumes for what you are running for the real reason.
We need about 20 women running this year in the elections in George town and each district except northside and East End..
Let me tell you how that works. It's just a ploy to say that they have advertised like you know those people that apply for permits and doesn't have any plans to hire a Caymanian even though qualifed Caymanians applied? This has happened to me twice. First time, they wasted my time doing a test and I made the highest grades but then I heard that the job was promised to someone that was causing problems in another department so they moved that person into the job. My thing is this, why advertise and waste my time at the test and interview?
The second time, I heard that someone was getting the job after the interview but the person that got the job told another person that she was getting the job before the interview. Once again, why bother wasting our time?
Yep, same with that big HR job in govt that is being advertised again but they have apparently already promised it to an expat.
I'm afraid they are correct, just like others that got a good job after the election, Bernie Bush seemed to have ended up on his feet after the election as well
Bernie is an opportunist. He should have stuck with Tara if he was in running for the best interest of our country.
Yeah right ….Bernie landed on his feet with a cushy govt job after splitting up votes last election!!
He better had stay in that cushy job that mckeeva gee him! He can't get elected in gt this time round. If he didn't make it last time when mckeeva was seen as the saviour, he sure not going make it now that george town people think mckeeva is the devil.
Johnathon Piercy announced his intentions to run in the May 2013 elections at the same time as an Independent Candidate, Craig Brown, did, (at least the story of both were announced at the same time on Cayman 27 News) so why is there not a story of Craig Brown's declaration?
CNS: We print articles about all candidates for the coming election as soon as we get news of them, either through a press release or a press conference or they reach out to us for an interview. There is a delay if Wendy has to chase them down. So maybe you should direct this question to the cadidate.
OK it was advertised, and then Bushy gave HIM the job..Jonathan how can you be associated with this man…?
Hopefully all the Mckeeviorites appointed to cushiony Government jobs with play play duties and responsibilities will resign their posts before the elections. There is no need to fill these positions and we might not have to trim the fat from the civil service if they all go. Just having been associated with the UDP government, past or present, is a good enough reason for me not to vote for this one.
many qualified Caymanians applied for that job and were not even called in for an interview
All bark and no bite, just one of Bush's puppets. It's a disgrace when a bright gentleman of the islands cannot seem to get his act in order………but like everyone says, another power hungry anti hero……..
It is so refreshing to see these arrogant so and sos get a damn' good grilling in the court of public opinion. Tired of their self-righteous garbage thinking that they can spew some pathetic party rhetoric and not come up with ONE solution for our woes.
I'm not sure you deserved the job in the first place and if I as a taxpayer was funding you, good riddance. Get a real job and learn to punish like the rest of us. Tired of your BS.
That's right Jonny Boy, chase the money. Nothing new under the sun eh?
Excellent Jonathon glad you are back!! You got my vote!!
Why?
Because it is my decision who I vote for!!
Yes, we understand that. The question related to your reasons for exercising your decision in that way.
Well, if you lay down with dogs, you'll get fleas. Happy scratching!
And so the story goes. The mindless zombies come out to vote.
Yes, do tell us why he has your vote.He just joined a soon to be former politician under criminal investigation.
JP bad move should have stayed at the Investment Bureau at least you are guaranteed a job Bobo
It will interesting to see if he returns to this job (or any other government job) after the election.
So I assume we shall now see his post being advertised? There is no way that this man can run for office and if he were to lose, seek to continue his tenure as a civil servant. The outcome will be interesting to say the least.
Furthermore, as the anom 11:01 noted, a private members motion is indeed in place.
If Jonathan Piercy is considered a senior civil servant then I say we need to start cutting the civil service from the top down.
Congratulations and all the best. I for one will miss you as a civil servant colleague but hopefully you will make it back in through the political arena. Looking forward to great things from you.
Very arrogant man who is power-hungry. The civil service is much better off without this political appointee. From all I have gathered from staff under him – bare nepotism and self-righteousness. George Towners needs to see through him again. Shame for wanting to keep our people under a dictator!
I hate to believe this. Jonathan is a well groomed young man, too good to get messed up in politics as I always tell him. He is very good for the Country but will not get ant thanks. He will certainly get my vote come May as he is a brilliant young man and have alot to offer.
Another puppet for McKeeva to play with
A Private Member's Motion brought by Mr. Bush in Legislative Assembly in September 2008 sought, among other things, to prohibit senior civil servants from running in a general election for a least one year after leaving their post. What an about face when it is politically convenient.
Piercy is power hungry and will obviously stoop to anything if it gives him a glimmer of hope of being in power. Shame on you, Jonathan Piercy!
This is a departure from his previous comments which were to the effect that if he ever ran again it certainly would not be with the UDP!
I am so disapointed in him.
Well this says a lot about him as a personand candidate.
Personally anyone who joins the UDP ticket after everything that has happened in this last term shows me thiri inability to simply think much less lead a country.
Mr Pearcy this is political suicide. You think that because you are with a party and there are more seats you stand a chance? Is that what you think? Sorry. Ten independents will get seats before we give you one ESPECIALLY now that you have sided with UDP, AGAIN!!!
Theresa Lewis, Walling, Chris Saunders, Arnold Berry, I hope you are paying attention. Watch how Theresa, Walling and Jonathan will all become two time loosers in one night.
Jonathan worked for a Statutory Authority and not government directly! Therefore, I believe he can give the same notice as other civil servants running for political office?
The article says he worked for a govt department. Thatis the civil service.
The Department of Commerce and Investment is not a statutory authority, it is a central government department (and was called the Cayman Islands Investment Bureau under the previous administration because you know how we love to change the names of government departments). It was previously under McKeeva's massive portfolio of responsibilities and is currently under Rolston's Ministry of Education, Financial Services and Employment.
To the contrary!!! Jonathan Piercy isn't "power hungry". I have known him for a long time, and trust me, he cares about Cayman and is very capable of thinking out of the box.
Yes, I will be the first to say that I don't fancy his team mates too much. But if there is someone who can't be controlled by Bushy, it will be this guy!!!
Don't disgard him because of his association. We have done for a long time in Cayman, and hence I say that is why we are in this mess now.
If Jonathan had any morals or integrity, he would not even associate himself with that bunch, shame on you Jonathan, I suggest you keep your current job.
He is also a good friend of Dick Arch, what's the old saying about birds of a feather
Jonathan is just showing his loyalty. At least he is very loyal unlike so many others.
Hi loyalty is misplaced. His first loyalty should be to this country not to McKeeva Bush. How any sane person can still think that McKeeva is the right man for the job is beyond me.
The problem is that there seem to be a lot of insane people voting all the time.
Power corrupts; and absolute power corrupts absolutely!
Who you associate yourself with says a LOT about who you are, especially in politics. He just associated himself with a man under criminal investigations for alleged corruption. Is this the kind of individual you want running the country?
You lie with dogs you will catch fleas.
That's the trouble, I can't tell whether he is thinking outside the box or just thinking about the box.
Two good candidates for Georgr Town, Jonathan and Mike. You two certainly got my vote.
I thought this was the case too, but was not sure. I thought it was senior civil servants after the issues Mac had with Chuckie.
As for the poster below about the Investment Bureau being a stat auth, i believe it is a Govt Dept, therefore young Piercy would be a senior Civil Servant.
If it were a Stat Auth, then he would be a senior Public Servant.
Perhaps the Dep. Gov. needs to issue a statement on this Private Members Motion vs. senior Civil / Public Servants running for election – issue a statement Franz.