BT dump protestors urge voters to avoid UDP/ PNA
(CNS): The group of district activists fighting to prevent the relocation of the George Town dump in Bodden Town are asking voters to pick from all of the PPM candidates and some independents on polling day as they have committed to keeping the district dump free. Alain Beiner, chairman of the Coalition to Keep BT Dump Free, said his group had made the proposal by Dart Realty Cayman Ltd to place a new landfill in Midland Acres a major campaign issue but not all of the candidates had been clear about their opposition to the plan. In order to protect the district, he urged voters to only vote for candidates who have unequivocally committed to keeping the district dump-free.
Beiner pointed to all of the Progressives — Osbourne Bodden, Anthony Eden, Wayne Panton and Al Suckoo — as well as independent candidates Charles Clifford and Gregg Anderson, who have been heavily involved in the campaign against the BT dump proposal. In addition, the campaigners cited two other independent candidates, Arnold Berry and Vincent Frederick, as hopefuls in the district who also say they are opposed to the relocation.
Although Frederick was also a founding member of the activist group, he left the coalition ahead of the election campaign, having indicated to the membership he was considering running on a UDP ticket, even though the party is still committed to the Dart proposal and has not ruled out relocating the dump in the district.
“We’ve succeeded in making Dart’s proposed dump deal a major issue in the election campaign. And, given the widespread opposition to needlessly establishing a waste management facility in Bodden Town (BT), it’s no surprise that many candidates have ‘jumped on the anti-dump bandwagon’, including a few who were previously key dump proponents,” he said. However the group’s leader, who owns the local award winning hotel in the area, The Turtle Nest Inn, queried how committed all of them really were to protecting the district.
“Coalition supporters are concerned by the vague opposition of several candidates to moving the dump,” added Arlene Whittaker, another member of the coalition, and a Midland Acres resident.
“We fear that many may just be after our votes," she added. “Our supporters want to know who is really opposed to putting a waste management facility in Bodden Town, regardless of what it’s called, regardless of how the proposed landfill may be ‘attractively packaged’ with promises of adding recycling, waste-to-energy, etc., whether immediately or ‘sometime in the future’. Which candidates can we count on if they’re elected?”
Whittaker said an e-mail message was sent to each candidate in BT who has expressed “credible” opposition to the Dart dump deal.
“We have excluded any candidate who has been complicit in the dump deal,” she said, which meant that the question was not put to candidates from parties that have been promoting the dump deal — the two UDP and the two PNA candidates running in the district.
In the message sent Wednesday, the coalition asked, “Do you promise the people of Bodden Town that, if elected, you would vote against any proposal in the LA which involves establishing a waste management facility in Bodden Town?”
In response, all of the Progressives along with the coalition’s three former members as well as Berry all responded with a clear ‘Yes”, Whittaker stated.
“These candidates have given us their promise,” she revealed. “If you feel, as we do, that a dump would be disastrous for BT, and that the GT dump can and must be fixed where it is, these are the candidates we can count on to keep our district dump free.”
Since October 2010 the group has been campaigning hard on this single-issue and the group said it has continued on as a non-political community organization open to anyone who opposed moving the GT landfill to BT, regardless of their political affiliation or opinion.
Beiner said that, given that position, the group could not endorse any particular candidate or political party as it had no common position on any other issue or a mandate to advise the electorate who to vote for. But he said the group does have a mandate to challenge the candidates, to present the facts, and to list those candidates who are clearly committed to the fight against a landfill in the district.
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The dump belongs in a dump, best place for it is Bodden Town
You must have come from the west, I mean West Bay. Have any of you people stopped to consider the develper built his development next to the dump. Wheelabrator had the plan on how to deal with the dump where it is located and actually had received word from the deposed moron that talks would begin and suddenly Dart decided that he did not want it in his side yard and your moron took whatever was offered to him and made the change. It is like him wanting to appease Imparato with cutting into the East End shore line because his buddy wanted it. Now it is being insisted that we get the dump in Bodden Town and we still say noooo. No waay Jose!!!
7.06 check out Peter Campbell’s law suit. The dump is just fine where it current exist. Hope I answered your query.
Let the truth be told! These FCIA deals are a disgrace to the Cayman Islands! Glad to see that some candidates promised the residents of BT to keep BT dump free! Now let’s move on to the next battle like crime and the high cost of living because I do not think it should just stop there! We now have the power so let’s vote out these self righteous idiots Next week!
Please educate yourselves and know the difference between a dump and a waste mangement facility! There was never going to be a dump anywhere other than the one in GT aka mount trashmore. Sad how people run with what they hearinstead of learning for themselves.
So where would you put the dump and how will you pay for it? Or have you not figured that out yet?
Let the truth be told! These FCIA deals are a disgrace to the Cayman Islands! Glad to see that some candidates promised the residents of BT to keep BT dump free! Now let’s move on to the next battle like crime and the high cost of living because I do not think it should just stop there! We now have the power so let’s vote out these self righteous idiots Next week!
Chuckie as long as you promise to keep away from C4C and keep the dump or waste management facility out of Bodden Town you have my vote. I further request that when you get in, please have a look at taxing Dart. He needs to pay for all of this split and disruption amongst our people and for all the land he pulled from under the people of this nation.
He actually almost got away with it! He gave the Caymanian people swing sets for their beach front property and road. The UDP administration being so gullible took it line, sinker and hook.
Chuckie you are the only man I see that can stand up to Mr. Dart! So you have my vote and my family votes.
Good luck and God bless.
No way I’m voting straight PPM all I hear Chuckie doing is repeating what the PPM say.
He is trying to ride in on the PPM coattails and I figured him out long time ago. Progressives all the way.
3,5,7&12 and I’m happy!
Damn right. Quite aside from the UDP and PNA showing a flagrant disregard for the interests of Bodden Town constituents and indeed the Cayman Islands as a whole, this issue has revealed a fundamental lack of probity amongst many of those candidates. Simply put, the UDP and PNA are not fit for public office.
BODDEN TOWN, do NOT be fooled by Vincent and Arnold on this dump issue. They are the "other" two UDP candidates running in Bodden Town under the disguise of being an Independent.
Vincent did not lie when he said he would be running with the UDP. And man, many of you remember that after the 2009 election he was wearing a UDP shirt and praising his support for them from that time since.
Do not believe them about fighting against the dump coming to Bodden Town. Arnold is linked closely with the UDP also because he is on a couple of their current Boards like the CIAA (Airports Authority) with Dick Arch and others.
These two cant be trusted Bodden Town, they ARE UDP.
Trust what you know and who you know that are definitely, definitely against the dump coming to Bodden Town, that is Chuckie, all PPM and Gregg.
we don't care what the other issues are as long as they are against the dump vote for them…