CINP switches focus to tough West Bay battles
Dan Scott (CBE candidate) is the leader of the Cayman Islands National Party. He was EY regional manager until his retirement in June 2023. More at the CINP West Bay rally(CNS): Following the Cayman Islands National Party’s early focus on the Sister Islands, where party leader Dan ScottDan Scott (CBE candidate) is the leader of the Cayman Islands National Party. He was EY regional manager until his retirement in June 2023. More is hoping to oust the premier from her CBE seat, the CINP has switched its focus to West Bay as the campaign gets underway in earnest.
On Tuesday night, following a successful meeting at the weekend for Julie Hunter, who is taking on McKeeva Bush
McKeeva Bush (WBW incumbent) is the longest-serving member of parliament (the “Father of the House”), having represented West Bay continuously for three decades. More in West Bay West, all twelve candidates were in West Bay North to rally for Jordon Rivers, who is in a four-way race for the seat being vacated by Bernie Bush.
Scott told attendees spread out across the Turtle Farm car park that Rivers, as one of the youngest candidates on the platform, understands the reality facing the next generation and knows what’s needed to make the change for a better future.
He said the CINP would deliver a country that Caymanians can be proud of. “We have assembled a group of wonderful candidates, and Jordan Rivers sits at the centre of it,” he said.
The night was largely about the two tough West Bay battles that Rivers and Hunter are fighting, as both are up against experienced politicians. Hunter is taking on Bush, who has represented the district for almost 40 years.
Rivers is one of three independent candidates for WBN, including the incumbent Bernie Bush’s daughter, Shakeina Bush. However, his toughest adversary is likely to be Rolston Anglin, who served for three terms alongside Bush and was Minister of Education, Financial Services and Employment and Deputy Premier from 2009 to 2013.
Mario Ebanks, who came within 27 votes of taking McKeeva Bush’s seat in 2021, endorsed Rivers and encouraged Hunter to pick up on that 2021 advance in WBW and finish the job, sending Bush “into that long-awaited retirement”.
He said both Bush and Anglin were to blame for many of the political failings and poor policy decisions over the last 25 years that have led to and are symbolic of the problems we see today, such as the status grant giveaways where more than 3,000 people were given Caymanains status by the UDP government without any application process or scrutiny.
Ebanks reminded the West Bay audience that Bush and Anglin were the architects of the National Roads Agreement with Dart, which led to the loss of the West Bay Road and many beach access points. He urged voters in both WBN and WBW to vote for the CINP.
Rivers, who served on the National Trust board, is said to be a major supporter of protecting Cayman’s environment and opposed to the current over-development. He said he has not seen another place in his lifetime that has been so transformed so quickly by development as North West Point.
Hitting a nerve with locals at the event, this stretch of the district’s shoreline has seen a staggering amount of luxury condo development, transforming the neighbourhood over the last five years to the detriment of the residents.
Access to the coast has been lost completely along this stretch of road. It’s no longer possible to see the ocean along it, and residents have lived through more than half a decade of continuous construction disruption for properties few can afford that have no benefit to their community.
Rivers also spoke about the need for real immigration change to reverse the system that has worked against rather than for local people. Such changes would include making government subject to the same hiring rules as the private sector and eliminating the backdoor route to status through public sector jobs. He also spoke about more transparency for the immigration system and a return to posting pictures of those applying for status in the local media.
Rivers stressed the CINP position that, as a group, their political inexperience and experience in the real world is an advantage as successive administrations loaded with experienced career politicians have simply failed the entire country. If voters want to see real change, then it can only come with a new team at the helm, he said.
Check out the CNS Election Section interactive map to see who is running in each constituency.
See the list of candidates and their party affiliations here.
Category: Election News
Change writes: Every constituency has the same issue when their MP becomes a minister. It is not that they stop caring about their area, but Cabinet members have no choice but to tackle issues at national level, and that takes budget, meetings, reports, travel, conference calls, sitting with lawyers to streamline bills and laws — all […]
”Ebanks reminded the West Bay audience that Bush and Anglin were the architects of the National Roads Agreement with Dart, which led to the loss of the West Bay Road and many beach access points. He urged voters in both WBN and WBW to vote for the CINP.”
Lest we forget:-
Prior to DART gaining the WB Road and building that excellent highway, please remember nobody wanted to live in West Bay, the rent was dirt cheap because places could not be rented due to traffic issues when people sat in traffic from watercourse road to GT in the morning.
The highway that DART built from the agreements negotiated by Bush have played a vital role in the skyrocketing value of WB real estate which many Caymanian property owners are relishing in right now.
Yeh, just must love traffic. Remember waiting in traffic from Batabano all the way to Galleria Plaza for 1.5 hours back then.
That was after Ivan…when there were many inconveniences.
Bush never did anything that didn’t benefit Bush.
I encourage everyone to read the EY report that Dan headed up. He is all about power and control. Ask any of the EY partners who put up with it for years. What happened to the ‘Expat Tax that Dan and Mac cooked up a decade or so ago? Or was it a choice between selling off CIG entities like Water Authority, OR direct income tax. Who knows what Dan’s group is capable to. Can you even imagine some of these rookies in parliament? KB will have some fun.
Idiots like you are the worst kind of voters, the root cause of our issues.
I’m not the original poster but your comment is the worst kind of comment. No explanation, no sharing your opinion. Absolutely of no value.
To 2:37: Please stop spreading misinformation.
It has been explained many times, that the report was commissioned by govt and the work was done by an overseas group hired by E&Y, who then published the group’s conclusions and recommendations; Scott had no say in what the group concluded. If you didn’t know it, now you do. Please stop confusing people.
CNS: If you’re going to keep claiming this, you have to explain 1) how two of the three members of the core team for the report were from the Cayman Islands office, 2) why the report itself says the global advisory board was there for “support”, 3) why having general oversight of the report did not give Dan Scott any say in what the report concluded, 4) why being the regional manager of EY at the time was a toothless position (which would detract from his CV to be premier). See the team structure chart here. See more about Project Future here.
This does not mean that Scott still believes the report’s conclusions are a good idea – something that only he can answer – and I’m not making any statement on the validity of the report’s findings, but pretending he had nothing to do with it is clearly bunk. You are not doing the CINP any favours with this approach.
It’s time for West Bay to move on past the entrenched “what can I get out of this” politicians like Mac, and embrace educated young Caymanians who can see beyond their bank accounts and work for their community.
It’s time for West Bay to be annexed.
Have you read Jermain Ebanks-Hurlstone’s manifesto? Solid!
Young, focused and independent. He’s got my vote!
Now that Mac and Kenneth have “come out” as running mates, warning sirens should be blaring across the land.
Between the two of them they will completely destroy every fiber of honesty and decency left in our politics, while their Jamaican supporters dance in the streets.
Enjoy your time in the spotlight Mr. Dan “thin skin” Scott. After 30 April you can go back to full-time retirement and visit Cayman Brac during the Christmas holidays.
Totally agree with you.
Can anybody please tell me what Mr. Scott has done for the Brac Community during the whole time he lived in Grand Cayman?
He was not a politician and owed you nothing. When he becomes a politician then you can gauge him by what he’s done for his constituency. No wonder JOCC has been in politics for so long even though she’s failure. Obviously, most people in the Brac have the same mentality of handouts for votes. Control Education, Control the voters. Sad really.
Most Brackers just want government to leave them alone, and not change things in a way harmfulto them or their finances. A lesser contingent of Brackers have their hands out, waiting them to be filled with glitter.
Still others are vulnerable to backroom deals which will benefit them to the detriment of the taxpayer, just like everywhere else here.
He has come to rescue Braccas from Judas …
West bayers need a clean sweep in April. Enough is enough. Vote them all out.
“luxury condo development…to the detriment of the residents” is a nonsense assertion.
Maybe “to the perceived detriment of the original residents” is a better way to describe it.
“to the perceived detriment of the ancestors of those who sold their properties for a quick buck”
If you take Dan out of this party, it’s a laughing stock to be quite honest. If Julianna beats him, the whole party goes to pieces.
You don’t think Juju is a laughing stock all by herself..?
Asylums are full of patients who did things that “God” told them to.
Juju confusing God with Greed.