Panton won’t be ‘defined’ by others
(CNS): Wayne Panton
Wayne Panton: Candidate for Newlands. He was Minister for Financial Services, Commerce and Environment (2013-2017). Biography: Panton successfully ran as a PPM candidate for one..., the former minister for the environment and financial services, said he believes his narrow loss in 2017 was because he was not on the ground to counter the distorted messages about him from his opponent. Speaking to voters in this election campaign’s first open Zoom public meeting, Panton engaged in a Q&A with his voters rather than speaking at them.
Speaking about his chances of winning, Panton, who lost the seat to Alva Suckoo
Alva Suckoo: Newlands MP Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Political Career: • Deputy Leader of the Opposition- May 2017-Present• Elected Member of the district of... at the last election by just 35 votes, said that this time he would not be allowing any of his “opponents to define who I am”.
The former minister pointed out that in 2017 he was still working as a minister and fighting at the time to draft and pass legislation to protect the financial services sector from being blacklisted and the threats that still plague the jurisdiction, and to secure support for the much needed expansion of the marine parks, something that has still not been implemented by this government.
However, Panton said things were very different this time around as he had spent the last four years on the ground defining himself and giving people the opportunity to really get to know him and what he stands for.
Running in one of the busier races, Panton said that having three competitors would increase the challenge, but given the results the last time around, it is clear that the race will be between himself and Suckoo.
In 2017 the two men dominated a three-way race, with Panton falling just 1.5% points behind Suckoo. Raul Gonzales, who is running again, took just 15.5% of the vote. Roydell Carter, the former director of the Department of Environmental Health, is also running in this election but it’s hard to predict what impact this will have on the results in 2021.
Carter was a civil servant for many years before he received a secret pay off from government in 2019 and as a result has been unable to show any political affiliations. In November 2017 he was placed on some kind of mysterious enforced leave before eventually receiving the undisclosed sum.
Panton acknowledges that the more candidates there are, the more divided the opposition vote will be, which favours an incumbent. However, he believes this time the end result will go his way.
“I think I am doing well,” he said. “Last time I was still really busy doing a significant amount of work, even as the campaign was underway, and it kept me from being on the ground. In 2017 I made the mistake of allowing others to define me. It will be a lot more difficult for that to happen this time around,” he added.
Panton has managed to recruit a significant number of new voters, and as a strong advocate for the environment and equality for both women and the LGBT community, his more progressive agenda may prove to be an increasing advantage as the voting demographic changes in Newlands.
The constituency has grown by some 231 voters since the last election and during his Zoom meeting he outlined his position on issues, such as the situation surrounding the conviction of the Speaker 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..., which he said was why he finally left the Progressives
The People's Progressive Movement (PPM), also known as the Progressives, was founded in 2002 in response to the launch in 2001 of the United Democratic..., even though he was a founding member of the party.
Panton said that he had had an “argument about it with the leadership”, which ended with his resignation. He said that being in office means comes with expectations of setting an example, and it was unacceptable for Bush to remain in high office after he had behaved the way he did.
Panton spoke a great deal about the need to slow down the pace of development and to focus on preserving the environment with a proper plan to guide any future growth, in tune with the country’s natural resources. He also said that an effective, efficient, reliable public service with the capacity to move people around was the answer to the traffic problems, not just more roads. And Cayman must have a conversation about reducing the amount of cars people import, he added.
“People are feeling compressed and stressed in their own country,” he said, as he engaged in conversation with voters about his genuine commitment to the environment.
Category: Election News
