Election 2009
Brac independent called UDP
(CNS): A PPM minister at a political rally on Cayman Brac assured the crowd that independent candidate for the district, Lyndon Martin, was in fact a member of the opposition party. Calling the UDP liars and McKeeva Bush “a deadly man”, Arden McLean said, “They will do anything to get their two candidates elected up here…Don’t you be fooled by them, it’s not only one.” In front of a noisy crowd outside Kirkconnell’s Market to support PPM incumbent Moses Kirkconnell (left), McLean also promised to pave the main roads, provide piped water throughout the island,and sort out the dump if he returned as Minister for Works.
The only speaker among three ministers and three backbenchers to talk about the UDP, the “Action Man”, who had been all but invited to join the UDP at an opposition rally on the island a few weeks earlier, said the UDP “will do anything to get power… One thing you have not heard is that there was any corruption with anyone here. And I can stand in front of everybody and don’t have to worry which of them is taking 10% behind me.”
On the other hand, there was a note of praise for UDP incumbent Juliana O’Connor–Connolly for her role in the post-Paloma recovery. McLean said Kirkconnell had been very supportive of his clean-up efforts, but added, “I must say the other one has been, too.”
As Minister of Works and Infrastructure, McLean suspended post-Paloma clean-up operations on the Brac after a fire mid-December destroyed a tub grinder being used to grind debris from the hurricane. Immediately referring to the incident as “a senseless act of vandalism”, though the fire appears to have been an accident, he recalled around 30 Department of Environmental Health staff back to Grand Cayman.
Talking to Brackers at the election rally, McLean claimed there was much work to be done on the dump, and much debris to be processed. He said “the clean-up guys” would be back by Wednesday (today), and said how proud he was of Cayman Brackers and that they were as resilient as the people of East End.
“I am going to commit to you,” he told the people to much applause, “that when I become the Minister for Works again, two things is going to happen in this community: One, water is going to be put throughout this island, and number two, I am going to pave every main road in this island.”
He said he was committed to resolving the disposal of municipal waste in this country and to finding alternative method of disposal. He had been prevented from returning to the Brac to discuss the environmental impact study on the new landfill on the Bluff because of Paloma in November, he explained, but said the island would either have its own mini-processing plant for waste or it would be shipped to Grand Cayman to be processed there. Waste-to-energy was the key, he said. (Right: Mini Mt Trashmore – the view from the road at Public Beach)
Minister for Tourism, Environment, Investment and Commerce, Charles Clifford, noted the work of the Cayman Islands Investment Bureau on the island in nurturing small business, which was tied to the work of the CI Development Bank – both initiatives that had been implemented on the island during his ministry at the urging of Kirkconnell.
He said that while the CIDB had a regular presence here over here on monthly basis, Kirkconnell had been pushing for a dedicated office properly staffed on Cayman Brac, and announced that this was, in fact, the next step. Since it had been established on the Brac, the bank had approved and granted 11 mortgages, six debt consolidation loans, ten small business loans and three students loans – a total disbursement of CI$2.2million, the minister said. It had also put a moratorium in place on loan payments after Paloma to help people get back on their feet.
Highlighting help given to Brackers since the hurricane, Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said government had funded three teams of Atlantic Star Construction crews, which had complete some 57 project and had around 12 more projects to do. The committee set up to assess applications for rebuilds and repairs has already processed 287 applications, for which $3.6 million was committed, and they were now looking at another 145 application.
The three ministers and two PPM back benchers, Lucille Seymour and Osbourne Bodden,repeatedly referred to MLA Moses Kirkconnell’s persistence in lobbying for Cayman Brac. And though there is no practical difference between being first and second elected member for the district, there was a constant encouragement to make the PPM representative the former. Tibbetts urged supporters to use only one of their two votes on election day and to vote ‘yes’ for the Constitution in the referendum.
Wally takes on builder’s law
(CNS): Already considered a serious contender for one of the four seats in the George Town district at the General Election on 20 May, Walling Whittaker upped his game yesterday in a bid to attract more votes when he called a meeting of small sub-contractors and warned them that the Builders Law would put them out of business, but if they elected him he would repeal it. Whittaker said the new law would add such onerous burdens to small contractors that they simply would not be able to trade.
To a packed room at the Reliable Industries showroom, Whittaker launched an attack on the law in which he stated that most of the people there would be facing more red tape as the law had created more hurdles for them. Worse, he said, was the creation of a board madeup of their competitors to whom they would have to answer. He asked the audience why they should have extra layers of bureaucracy when many were already meeting these requirements under different laws and regulations.
“Your Trade and Business Licence will be no longer valid,” he said. “You will have to apply to this new board made up of your competitors for a different builders licence. Contractors who have been in business for years will have to take an exam set by a board and administered by an institution of their choosing.”
He said contractors would be limited in the work they could do and the law created unfair differences between civil contractors and residential trade contractors. Whittaker described the law as misguided and the aim to improve standards could have been achieved differently. “I haven’t seen any buildings dropping on people’s heads, so I think you know what you are doing. This is a bad law for your industry.”
Whittaker warned the law would lead to domination of the market by large general contractors as the small contractor would not meet the requirements to trade. “The barriers for entry are too onerous for you to meet, so you will fade away. This will drive up cost of housing for all the community,” he added.
He said the new board would be able to prevent small contractors from being licensed. “They can decide you can’t have a licence based purely on the economic situation. They can refuse you your license based on things you’ve done in the past. You have to show your board your finances and your competitors will decide if you can stay in business,” he claimed, adding that the board would also dictate to contractors the ownership of shares, they could not move shares around unless the board said so, nor would the contractors be able to start spin-off companies unless approved by this board.
“Your competitors are deciding if you are competent but who decided they were competent to decide if you are competent?” Whittaker asked, adding that their only course of redress if they did not like the board’s decision was through the Grand Court.
Whittaker told the increasingly disgruntled crowd that the law, although not implemented, was already passed and would come into effect once the eighth board member had been appointed. He said, however, that he would fight for its repeal but the best way for the contractors to fight the law was to create a small contractors association where they could pool labour and resources while dealing with pension and heath issues collectively. He said pooling together would see them able to protect themselves from legislation like this and their interests, as he noted that the Cayman Contractors Association (CCA), which was in support of the new legislation, had failed to do that.
Hitting back however, Steve Hawley, president of the CCA, pointed out at the meeting that Whittaker had grossly distorted the facts about the law and that, as it introduced levels and categories of contractors, all the persons in the room would be able to choose what type of licence they wanted with graduated requirements. He explained that if a small contractor was hoping to pitch for a Ritz size contract then indeed he would have to meet certain criteria, but this would not be the case for a small trader’s licence.
“If what you said was true then this would indeed be a horrendous law,” Hawley said to Whittaker. He also called Whittaker out as being on the original committee that wrote the law but who had never turned up for meetings. Whittaker denied being invited despite his name being on the committee list.
However, the crowd of subcontractors clearly felt that the CCA did not have their interests at heart and one contractor pointed out that with some 18 members out of an industry of up to 400 that was not surprising.
Hawley also admitted that the only actual builder on the committee of 13 people who created the law was the president of the CCA, which had begun with Ian Pairaudeau from McAlpine and then himself when he became the next president.
Tommy Bodden, a well known and respected local contractor, defended Hawley and the CCA as he said the reason why the membership was low was because it had very high standards. He explained that the new law was designed to protect the customer from rogue companies and the idea that it favoured general contractors was misplaced as it was to protect small business too.
Hawley tried several attempts to explain what the inaccuracies were that Whittaker had presented but he was asked to stop his explanations by Whittaker (and on one occasion Ezzard Miller, independent candidate for North Side, who was also there) as he said it was his meeting and if Hawley wanted to explain why he felt the law was good he should hold his own meeting.
However, Hawley did manage to explain that the two main thrusts of the law had been to address the problem that too much business has been locked up with big contractors and give opportunity for young Caymanians and small business to break into the sector and attempt to address the problem of fronting. He said the law was also to raise standards and eliminate rogue contractors to ensure the honest man got the job and not just someone with 40 work permits.
Whittaker responded saying that could all have been achieved through other means, adding this would be the first of several meetings he intended to hold with contractors to help them establish an association and to begin a serious campaign to repeal the law which he said was a piece of garbage.
Jack says courts to decide
(CNS): In a one paragraph statement, Governor Stuart Jack has broken his silence regarding the failure of two political candidates to meet the requirements on time for election under the 1972 Cayman Island Constitution section 19 1(g). Citing his statement as “clarification” the governor said he fully expects all candidates in the forthcoming general election to operate within the terms of the Constitution and the applicable laws of the Cayman Islands. “Should there be any cases of possible non-compliance with the legal requirements that would be a matter for the courts to decide,” he said.
The two candidates and the party as a whole have declared on a number of occasions that they believe Scotland and Seymour do now qualified as they have published their contracts, albeit some four days late. They have also claimed support for this position from both Attorney General Samuel Bulgin and Supervisor of Elections Kearney Gomez, both of whom say they have not made any statements that declare the candidates to be qualified.
As reported on CNS on a number of occasions, Gomez has said that the Elections office cannot state one way or the other over this issue as it is a Constitutional matter and not one governed by the Elections Law. Gomez confirmed that position in writing to all media houses on Friday (1 May) following a statement published as an advertisement in the local print media UDP General Secretary, which said that the elections office and the Attorney General had confirmed that Scotland and Seymour were entitled to contest the election.
In contrast Gomez said: “The Elections Office wishes to advise all media houses and the public that we have not confirmed to anyone one way or the other that any of the candidates in the 2009 General Elections are qualified or not qualified to be elected as members of the Legislative Assembly. This issue is not one to be determined by the Elections Office it is a matter for a court of law.”
The attorney general has also confirmed that his office has not said that the candidates are qualified as that will be determined by the Grand Court should there be a challenge following the election. The governor has now also added his comment which indicates that the law and the constitution must be adhered to.
Since the revelation on CNS that the two candidates missed the deadline for the constitutional requirement of declaring public contracts, the candidates’ eligibility to stand has been thrown into question.
Although it is anticipated that a number of Bodden Town candidates will challenge either of the two UDPcandidates if they gain enough votes that would see them elected, there could be a challenge by Bodden Town voters before election day as some legal experts believe there could be provision in the Constitution for that and have the candidates removed from the ballot.
Currently both candidates were duly nominated on 25 March — Nomination Day — because the provision in the Constitution did not have to be met until more than three weeks after that date. As a result, the two are on the ballot and there is no clear provision in either the Elections Law or the Constitution for their names to be removed, even if they are no longer qualified to stand for election.
UDP to be endorsed by local names
(CNS): Four well known names in the business and local community will be appearing on the United Democratic Party hustings on Monday night to declare their support for the opposition’s George Town team’s bid for office in the elections on 20 May. Norman Bodden, Richard Arch, Eldon Rankine and Dr. Edlin Merren will be present at the meeting in the parking lot of Kirk Home Centre on Eastern Avenue to give their public endorsement of Mike Adam, Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden, Jonathan Piercy and Ellio Solomon.
The UDP said it is expecting a high turnout because of the presence of their four high profile supporters. “It is a great honour for us to attract such support from these esteemed icons from within our community. Their endorsement reaffirms for us that our vision of a better future for these islands is one that is shared by the people,” said Adam, the former CEO of Cayman Airways who is standing for election for the first time.
UDP party and opposition leader, McKeeva Bush, will also be speaking at what is being described by the UDP’s press and campaign managers as the most significant of the UDPs rallies so far during this year’s election campaign. The 4 May public meeting starts at 7:00pm and will be broadcast live on Cayman 27, Radio Cayman and Vibe FM.
Mac vows to rescue CAL
(CNS): The country’s National Flag Carrier, Cayman Airways may have haemorrhaged some $90 million during the last four years, the Leader of the Opposition McKeeva Bush said last night when he promised to turn the airline around if the people voted for him and his team the United Democratic Party on 20 May. He said it would be hard after four years of mismanagement but they could do it. He also said he would deal with Boatswain Beach and make that more successful too.
Speaking at the very last Chamber Candidates District Forum in West Bay last night (Thursday 30 April) the Leader of the UDP said that when he was in government he had set the subsidy for Cayman Airways at a specific amount each year and kept the deficit down. Since he had been in opposition he said despite his efforts he had not been able to get the government to reveal exactly how much they had given to CAL in the way of subsidies.
“We have tried very hard to get the figures… but they wouldn’t tell us anything…. but we found out that…since June 2005…its been something like $90 million in losses. It is only mismanagement that made that happen. We will have to work hard again to turn that around but it can be done,” He said adding that the country had to maintain Cayman Airways.
He also said Boatswain Beach can work and that the figures by the financial experts revealed that it could be a successful attraction. He said he intended to work with private sector partners to make it more so. Bush explained that the facility had been tied in with the plan to build a cruise jetty in West Bay which he said the cruise industry had agreed with and contributed some $8 million. He said they had supported it because it would have put the passengers right by the farm. “If we are going to have cruise visitors here it should benefit our Boatswain Beach,” he said. “You elect the UDP and it will be come successful.”
All of Mckeeva Bush’s fellow candidates appearing on the same platform agreed that Cayman Airlines needs to be protected. His UDP colleague Cline Glidden explained that Cayman either subsidizes its own airline or a foreign one and if the country is going to continue in the tourism industry it was needed as a major partner. Glidden also stated that Boatswain Beach was created as a world class attraction and its problems were down to mismanagement as its financial position couldn’t be that bad given the significant salary advances that had been given recently, he said.
Bernie Bush an independent candidate said he had always supported Cayman Airways but was concerned over the growing losses and noted that there was a need to see the audited accounts. “Looking from the outside there is a lot of belt tightening that could go on and I don’t think the management have been listening to its own staff.”
Henry Morgan also running as independent in the district said he didn’t know how much it was subsidized but he felt it should be supported by the locals.
During the much anticipated debate featuring the Leader of the Opposition the candidates discussed job creation, unemployment, fiscal management, gambling, (which no one supported), West Bay’s issues, development of small business, which McKeeva said would benefit from reduce duty, rollover, tourism and the proposed port development. The UDP candidates both stated that they supported the development of cruise birth facilities but not the plans to redevelop the cargo facilities in George Town but did say where that facility should be moved.
When asked about the constitution McKeeva Bush would not offer his own position despite being part of the negotiating team. He restated the UDP’s position that it is a matter of conscience and would accept the people’s decision. “While I agree with many aspects there are areas that I am not satisfied with and areas that will not do anything for these islands,” he said adding the constitution would not put a job in anybody’s hands and it was only going to be as good as those elected to run a government under it. Glidden however said that he felt he was able to support it especially as the UDP had been able to restrict some of the early proposals which would have given too much political control to government during the negotiations.
Bernie Bush who had been involved in the early days with the constitution and he said he would be happy to support it. A deciding factor for him he said was the support of the Cayman Ministers Association and the felt it made provisions to protect Caymanians. Morgan said he had some problems with it and was not sure he agreed so wouldn’t be able to vote yes but he did not explain his concerns.
When it came to addressing perceptions about Cayman’s Financial Services industry overseas McKeeva Bush said that the current administration had failed to promote the Cayman Islands on the global stage and neglected the industry and the private sector had been forced to tackle the public relations position themselves. He said a UDP Government would work hard to improve the situation and work hard to help the world understand what we do the biggest issue he said was putting back the lobbyists that the government had sacked.
Bernie Bush agreed with his namesake and noted that the lobbyists needed to be re-instated. He also said that in recent conversations with a senior figure in the industry he had been told that eh and other professionals in the sector had experienced difficulty getting to meet with government to express their concerns.
Whenit come to the four candidates closing statements McKeeva warned that the country needed a united force in government after the election and while the UDP cold work with anyone the voters needed to elect a government with a plan and that was the UDP.
“We have been asked whether we will work with whomever is elected and I say of course we will. We must work with whomever the people select as their representatives if we are there in the legislature. Nevertheless, the country is in a position today where we must have a clear plan that has been discussed, a plan that has been refined and a plan that has been agreed upon prior to an election. If this is not so there will be unnecessary bickering, fault-finding and politicking,” he said. Using his experience as a veteran politician to steer the voters away from the independents Bush warned that any delay in forming government would be detrimental to the electorate. He said there needed to be unity and harmony in the Legislative Assembly and that could not happen with people who did not know what they were going to do when they got there.
UDP’s Ambassador for Jesus
(CNS): At a public meeting in Spot Bay, Sister Islands MLA Juliana O’Connor-Connolly criticized the current PPM government for passing a new Education Law rather than the simply amending the old one, and indicated that their motive for doing so was so that they could remove the clause that enshrined religious education. She also warned her supporters that there was a Muslim teacher at the Cayman Brac High School and “at least one” who was an atheist, and asked, “Do you think they’re going to be teaching your children religious worship and instruction?”
Though the bill had been circulated for comment some four months before being tabled in the House, O’Connor-Connolly said that not getting a flightso that she could be in the Legislative Assembly for the passing of the bill gave her time to read it through many times to make sure there was no reference to the section that enshrined religious instruction in law.
Dismissing the counter argument that it was covered in the National Curriculum, O’Connor-Connolly, who at a recent Chamber forum on the Brac suggested education as an area that she would like to take on in a Cabinet position, asked, “What will happen when we get a Minister of Education who does not believe in God?”
Calling the sequence of events “a parliamentary miracle", she said that her version of how the word “religion” was added into the law was fully documented. She said, “Rather than take the traditional method of amending the Education Law, which was working good, those same ministers was educated under that law … and your children went through that system, because they had good parents who cared about their future, because they had good teachers who cared about the children, and because we were still a land where the fear of God was present.”
Urging people to talk to their children about what they were learning at school, she said, “There is at least one teacher who is a Muslim right here at the Cayman Brac High School, and that is her religious right, but when they do assembly – because we come from a Christian background – she refuses to close her eyes or to have our traditional reverence.” She told those gathered that this teacher had explained to her class why she was a Muslim.
“Listen carefully,” O’Connor-Connolly went on, “there’s another one, I’m reliably informed, who isan atheist. Do you think they’re going to be teaching your children religious worship and instruction?” She said, “They didn’t just show up in our education system. They had to be interviewed. They had to be hired.”
The UDP incumbent said, “This is not a popular topic. It’s one that easily can be blown out of proportion, but when it comes to standing for God Almighty, I made my choice a long time ago and I’ve gone too far to turn back now, and when you’re ready for a representative who does not believe in God, then don’t vote for Juliana.” She said that her constituents could go to bed knowing that they won’t hear that she’s been arrested or that she was in Northward.
While not commenting further about the content of the Education Law or any of the changes that have taken place within the education system, O’Connor-Connolly also criticized the money spent on expensive schools saying it was mortgaging our children’s future and that the successful people of today did not learn in elaborate classrooms.
At the meeting, O’Connor-Connolly, who is running for her fourth term and was the first female Cabinet member, also emphasized experience as MLA and as minister. “I have met challenges,” she said. “We need representatives who can think on their feet,” she said.
Speaking of the UDP, she said “As a lawyer I know what it is to be an integral part of that team.” She said the last budget the LoGB – biggest capital budget ever
When the UDP votes money for the Brac, it is not later taken away and given to Grand Cayman, said the MLA, and she bemoaned the cuts for the Brac in the Supplementary Expenditure, dismissing the excuse that the Brac had had additional funds for the Paloma recovery. O’Connor-Connolly noted the rising cost of living on the Brac in terms of groceries, electricity and spoke out against suggestions that civil servants should pay towards health insurance.
“We don’t want to live in fear, especially as we get older,” she said, and several times reminded people that she and the UDP had increased the ex-gratia payments to seamen and veterans and said they would do everything in their power to raise it to $800 per month.
She also criticized the national debt, forced retirement at age 55 to 60,a dn said that the affordable housing initiative on the Brac had been started under the UDFP who had left $800,000 in the budget for its development, since when only four houses had been built.
To boost the economy of the Brac she suggested moving the maintenance department of Cayman Airways Express to the island, which among other benefits would improve the air ambulance service. Alternatively, she suggested support for Dr Charles Reid’s private medical air-evacuation proposal.
She said she had been criticized for paving certain roads when she was minister. “Well, you remember whose roads used to be paved before you elected Juliana O’Connor Connolly?” she asked, and claimed she was a representative for all the people and an “ambassador for Jesus Christ”.
Clifford defends conservation bill
(CNS): Minister for Tourism and Environment Charles Clifford has strongly defended the National Conservation Bill, which failed to make it to the Legislative Assembly during the last sitting because of both political and public opposition. Speaking at last night’s Chamber forum, Clifford said he very much regretted that the bill was not passed but there had been a propaganda campaign against the bill incorrectly leading people to believe they would not be able to develop their land when that was just not the case.
Despite the fact that his political and ministerial colleague Minister Arden McLean openly stated at the first Chamber forum that he would not back the bill unless it is changed, Clifford defended the bill when asked a question about environmental issues and protection at the Chamber Candidate’s District Forum in Bodden Town.
“The National Conservation Law is a law that was not passed during this administration and it is something that I very much regret,” he said. “There has been a propaganda campaign against that legislation. People have said all sorts of things about people not being able to develop their land if we pass the conservation bill and that is simply not correct.” He explained that the only issues that deals with the enforced protection of land refers to crown land (government owned) which has a sub-section that indicates if government wants to protect land it has to d so with the owner’s consent. He also wanted government to try and acquire the land around the duck pond so it can be protected. Clifford said it was an important eco-system which was as connected to the North Sound which was in turn connected to the tourism product.
Answering the same question about environmental challenges, Dwayne Seymour, a UDP candidate for the district, said he was concerned about the blasting and quarrying in the area as there were now some seven quarries in the Bodden Town district and the earth and even people’s houses were literally shifting. He also stated that the derelict vehicles and garbage as well as illegal dumping were serious problems, which, following his participation in Saturday’s Earth Day Clean-Up, he saw with his own eyes.
Seymour said he too wanted to see the pond saved for future generations. However, referring to Clifford’s comments regarding the National Conservation Bill, he said that as Minister McLean had said that he wouldn’t support it, Seymour thought there must be something seriously wrong with it. “He is a part of the present government, so I would be hesitant and would have to review that further find out what is so bad in this document that he and his colleague can’t agree on.”
Theresa Lewis–Pitcairn one of two other independent candidates on the panel stated she had concerns that there was so much litter, garbage, derelict vehicles in some areas of the district as this was part of an overall undervaluing and neglect of some of the poorer communities and she agreed that the duck pond needed to be protected.
Gilbert McLean, a former UDP member who served in its previous administration as Health Minister who is now running as an independent, said he was also very concerned about the quarries. He noted a tremendous amount of heavy equipment was now in the area, as well as increasing garbage and the related pests. He said there was a number of pressing environmental issues that needed to be addressed.
During the debate the four candidates covered tourism, the Turtle Farm, law enforcement, the airport redevelopment, the economy, new revenue ideas and unaudited government finances among other district and national topics.
The issue of government finances and the need to raise revenue came upin a number of different questions. But the need for greater efficiencies in government as a way of reducing spending rather than raising money, which has been a persistent theme of agreement throughout the forums, was also agreed by the final Bodden Town panel.
Clifford pointed to the idea of zero based budgeting and said that over the years operating budgets were always based on the previous year spending but it was time to move away from that and look at what government departments really need to operate. He said that government would find it could easily produce the same level of services but at a reduced cost. He said there was no need to raise revenues of fees every time the finances were in deficit, but he said given Cayman’s situation there were not that many options for new revenue raising measures.
Lewis-Pitcairn noted there were no easy solutions and the problem was compounded by the failure of government to supply audited accounts but there were areas of potential new revenue. She said that we could not continue to milk tourism and the financial services sectors but could utilise the lever of the agreements we were making overseas regarding tax information exchange to bring new business to Cayman in return. She said there were a number of ways to both raise revenue and increase efficiencies.
Three of the candidates said they supported rollover and that it should extend to the civil service, but Seymour noted it wasn’t working properly and needed reviewing. Lewis-Pitcairn, however, said she had never been a supporter of the policy as she did not think it addressed the fundamental problem that even when educated, qualified and experienced, Caymanians were still being discriminated against.
“I was never somebody who supported the rollover as you can’t legislate for people’s behaviour,” she said, noting that Caymanians were not being promoted even when properly trained and she said that was why we continue to see designer ads in the paper for jobs while Caymanians were still unemployed. “It does not add up,” she noted. “We need to ensure that persons that sit on these boards are there to do a proper public service or are paid a wage to do it.” She also noted it was wrong that the policy applied to the private sector and not the public when we were all one working community.
When the subject moved to the current government’s achievements and disappointments in the last administration, Clifford listed a lot of achievements before running out of time to list any disappointments. Lewis-Pitcairn cited Alden McLaughlin’s courage in addressing education, and both McLean and Seymour said they could not find any achievements only disappointments.
UDP denies disqualification
(CNS): Despite conflicting information from the Attorney General’s Office and the Elections Office, who both say they have made no statements on the issue, the United Democratic Party has claimed that reports regarding their Bodden Town candidates being disqualified are inaccurate and this has been confirmed by both those offices. However, Supervisor of Elections Kearney Gomez and AG Samuel Bulgin both say they have made no statements regarding the qualification as they stated it is a matter for the courts to decide.
Yesterday (29 April), the UDP circulated a statement from the General Secretary of the party, Rolston Anglin, in which it said media reports saying that Bodden Town candidates Mark Scotland andDwayne “John John” Seymour are disqualified from standing in the May 2009 General Election are false and have been inaccurately reported. “The fact that our candidates are entitled to contest and be elected by the people of Bodden Town in the General Election on May 20th 2009 has been confirmed by the Elections Office and the Honourable Attorney General,” it said.
However, following the release of this statement CNS contacted the Attorney General’s Office who confirmed in an email that the only comment the AG has made on this matter was that reported on CNS on Tuesday and there has been no other statement. In the email to CNS on Tuesday, 28 April, in response to a number of questions that have arisen over the candidates’ breach of a constitutional requirement, the AG said: “The issues raised byyou in your note are all questions of fact and law that can only be conclusively determined by the Grand Court after hearing all the facts and considering the relevant law(s). Indeed the outcome of any of these issues (is) going to be informed by other factual and legal matters that we are unable to foresee at this stage. Accordingly, any opinion at this juncture will be mere conjecture which would not be very helpful. In fact it will only lead to more questions”.
Gomez also told CNS that he has made no statement confirming the qualification of the candidate as he is not able to do so as this is a constitutional issue and not one for the Elections Law. He explained that the candidates were both duly nominated on 26 March, Nomination Day, as at that time they were in compliance with the requirements of the Elections Law. Gomez said the constitutional requirement is a different matter which comes after that date and the Elections Law has no provision to deal with that. He added that it was an issue for the Grand Court and not the Elections Office. Furthermore, last week the Governor’s Office confirmed that the Constitution would not be suspended.
Given those facts, the two candidates remain in contravention of the Constitution, which means that no one but a court can confirm their qualification for election as the current Constitution indicates they are disqualified. However, as the candidates names appear on the already printed ballot, the fact is they are able to contest the election whether they are qualified or not.
Even though this issue concerns a constitutional requirement as set out since 1972 which the candidates have contravened by publishing the details of their government contracts around four days late, the UDP have called this a political issue. “We humbly ask the general public and the people of Bodden Town not to allow political rumours and threats to distract you from the real issues facing this country or to discourage you from exercising your right to vote for Mark Scotland and Dwayne “John John” Seymour on 20 May 2009,” the General Secretary stated.
“In relation to recent threats from their political opponents that they will seek to have Bodden Town’s lawfully elected representatives removed from office following the General Election, our candidates are satisfied that they have made full and frank disclosure and been completely transparent with all information required from them in order to qualify them as candidates and to be elected to sit in the Legislative Assembly as your duly elected representatives for the next four years,” the General Secretary’s statement read.
A number of the other eight candidates running in the district have told CNS that the two must be challenged because this is in breach of the Constitution and, as the highest law of the land, it cannot be disregarded regardless of whether there was no intent to deceive. Section 19 (g) of the 1972 constitution states: “No person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the Assembly who…. is a party to, or a partner in a firm or a director or manager of a company which is a party to, any contract with the Government of the Islands for or on account of the public service and has not, in the case of a contested election, caused to be published, at least one month before the day ofthe poll, a Government Notice setting out the nature of such contract and his interest, or the interest of any such firm or company….”
Speaking at last night’s (Wednesday 29 April) Chamber Candidates District Forum, which included Seymour, three of the panellists all said they agreed with the provisions for candidate qualification in the Constitution, however, Seymour said there was a problem alluding to the requirement for declaration of public contracts coming after Nomination Day. “I think right now there is a problem with both laws correlating. The Elections Law doesn’t marry with the Constitution law. There is currently a flaw in the law,” he said.
Catron makes claim for every woman
(CNS): Although one of the youngest candidates in the general election 2009 campaign Sandra Catron who is standing as an independent in the district of Bodden Town for the second time is tackling some of the community’s oldest problems head-on. From her outspoken position on addressing child abuse to her ideas about full time committed political representation Catron is going to battle on a diverse platform which may be why she has chosen “Sandra’s every woman” as her campaign song.
At her first public meeting last week Catron adopted an interactive style where she took questions and engaged in conversation with the audience as well as making her case for the people’s vote. Charles, “The Killa” Whittaker, Cayman’s own boxing hero was asked how much money was raised for one of his fights on Catron’s talk show in 2006 and he said it was over $10,000. Catron explained that this demonstrated the power of one and made it clear that as an independent she could get things done. She said if elected the people would know how and where to reach her. Stating that even if she was not able to be in office every single day they would be able to reach her by phone and her schedule would be posted so that they would know when she would be in the constituency office.
Election’s office takes democracy on the road
(CNS): The Supervisor of Ele
West Bay: Mrs. Darlene Owens-Elliott, 916-4402
George Town: Ms Kathryn Myles, 916-2117
Bodden Town: Mrs. Kerry Nixon, 916-4478
East End: Mrs. Vernicia Watler, 916-4647
North Side: Ms Esther Patricia Ebanks, 916-4349
Cayman Brac and Little Cayman: Mrs. Georgene Lazzari, 948-0343.