Wight joins long-line of ‘no shows’
(CNS): Sharing the same platform as their challengers appears to be an increasing problem for many incumbents on the government benches. On Wednesday evening David Wight became the most recent in a long line of PPM-Alliance candidates who have avoided facing their opponents in this election on public forums. This is depriving voters from the ability to make a direct comparison of their policies and performance.
Wight was due to join the Chamber of Commerce Candidates Forum alongside his three challengers for the George Town West seat, but he failed to appear, leaving the floor to Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden
Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden: Independent candidate for George Town West. She is a successful entrepreneur with several businesses. Education: • Cayman Islands School• International College of the... More, Ellio Solomon and Kenrick Webster.
While Solomon came out fighting and McGaw-Lumsden articulated her policy positions well, Webster failed to capitalise on the opportunity to show how he might be the better candidate.
All three have been on the hustings in previous elections, with Solomon appearing in every election since 2005. Having succeeded in only one so far, Solomon has a tough battle on his hands to make this his second success.
However, he established himself as the only true George Town West candidate on the platform that evening, after pointing out that his opponents both ran in different George Town constituencies at the last election.
Webster ran in George Town East last time and McGaw-Lumsden in George Town North. However, in his last effort in the constituency, Solomon only managed to secure less than 11% of the vote, while Webster received less than 12% of the vote in GTE. However, McGaw-Lumsden did rather better, racking up 34% of the vote in GTN.
But at no point in the debate did Solomon’s opponents indicate why they had chosen to campaign in GTW, though Wight may be seen as a softer target than the incumbent in GTE, 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, the new PPM leader, or the planning minister, Joey Hew
Joey Hew (PPM): George Town North MLA, Minister of Commerce, Planning, Infrastructure. Biography: Hew has been a member of the Legislative Assembly since 2013, when... More, in George Town North.
In what is proving to be a relatively sedate series of forums with few curve balls or surprise questions, Solomon nevertheless made the most of the opportunity to take the fight to Wight, despite his absence. He said the people of GTW had contributed to four years of salary and costs for their MP, amounting to around half a million dollars, but they had barely seen him.
“I can respectively submit that he has done arguably nothing in the constituency,” he said, adding that they had paid a high price and could not afford to waste another four years.
Meanwhile, McGaw Lumdsen raised her concerns about the impact of traffic on her constituents and even suggested a reconsideration of the five-day week to three or even two days or staggered work times, saying it was unsustainable for children to be waking up at 4am to go to school.
Many of the questions focused on development, as has been the case in several forums, and all three candidates stressed their constituents’ concerns about it, especially since GTW is home to the controversial FIN development. Webster said he would not be supporting multi-storey buildings in the constituency because of the infrastructure challenges they bring.
Beach access was one of many subjects where the candidates were in agreement, as they pushed the need to protect beach access rights and pointed out that government after government has failed on this issue. Solomon called for very high fines for people blocking rights of way.
Despite owing a tour bus company, Webster challenged the idea of mass cruise tourism and offered support for a more targeted approach to the sector, as he pointed out that the cruise lines have driven down the prices on trips so much that they are no longer benefiting Caymanians in the industry.
McGaw-Lumsden said it was time to focus on overnight guests and ease the pressure on the environment. In contrast, Solomon was keen to ensure that a managed cruise business must return and spoke about “proper facilities”, though he avoided saying whether or not he supported the controversial idea of a dock.
See the debate on the Chamber YouTube channel below:
Category: Election News
