Alden ‘no show’ against Sammy for radio debate
(CNS): The outgoing premier, Alden McLaughlin
Alden McLaughlin (PPM): Red Bay MP, Premier, Minister of International Trade, Investment, Aviation and Maritime Affairs (MITIAMA). Biography: McLaughlin has been a member of the... More, declined an invitation to go up against his challenger, Sammy Jackson, on Wednesday on a radio talk-show, just two weeks out from the general election, where he is fighting to retain his Red Bay seat and hang on to power with another coalition government.
Cayman Crosstalk’s election debate platform allows candidates to rebut each other, which is not the case with the Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum, the only occasion so far where Jackson and McLaughlin have appeared together in a head-to-head debate.
Regardless of the outcome of the elections, McLaughlin cannot be premier because he has reached his term limit. However, after handing the leadership of the PPM to Roy McTaggart
Roy McTaggart (PPM): George Town East MP, Minister of Finance and Economic Development Political Career: • Successfully ran in the 2013 as a Coalition for... More, he is now the party chairman and spearheading the campaign.
But he left the public platform open to Jackson and representatives from the Red Bay community group to talk about the issues affecting his constituents and what they want done, and Jackson made the most of the opportunity to talk about his vision.
While Polly Pickering and Rachael Costa from the community group challenged Jackson, they also made it clear they want to see change in the district. And McLaughlin missed an opportunity to reassure his constituents that he is taking their concerns about excessive development and the neglect of the environment seriously.
Jackson committed to rolling out a more sustainable model for the development, which he said has lost its way after successive governments have ignored the existing development plan, and said there was a need to stop the “runaway development” that is not taking the environment into consideration.
He also made it clear that, although the PPM appears to have opened the door to any candidate joining their Alliance, if he takes the party’s biggest scalp and wins McLaughlin’s seat, he will not be forming a government that includes the current PPM line-up, and also said he would not serve in a government with McKeeva Bush
McKeeva Bush (CDP), West Bay West MLA Speaker of the LA, Leader of the Cayman Democratic Party. Biography: Bush is the longest serving member and... More.
Jackson said that an alternative alliance is emerging and it will be outlined before Election Day in a bid to avoid the horse-trading of the last election.
Category: Election News
