According to FNM sources, the leader appeared annoyed by Hunt’s handling of the whole resignation affair. Hunt resigned hours after Minnis called her into a meeting and requested the resignation. She said in a statement to the press that her resignation was in line with Minnis’ decision that the appointments to the Senate would be for a period of two and a half years.
Sources claimed that Minnis was miffed that Hunt, in his view, gave the public the impression that he gave her no notice to vacate the seat. The timing of the resignation ahead of the date Minnis had looked at for her departure was of her choosing. Within the hour after Minnis’ meeting with Hunt, information about their meeting was reportedly already posted on social media.
Hunt moved right away in resigning, breaking the news to the country before the leader did so. The move resulted in significant criticisms for Minnis, whose explanation for asking her to step aside was met with great doubt as he did not also ask FNM Senator Kwasi Thompson to resign. Both Thompson and Hunt were appointed to the Senate in May 2012.
Hunt, a 33-year-old lawyer and mother of three, works in the law offices of former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham. She supported former FNM Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner in the party’s leadership race in November.
National Review understands that Hunt wrote back to Minnis last week defending her handling of the resignation matter and pointing out that she never gave the public the impression he wished to kick her out the same day of the meeting. Minnis essentially gave her a week’s notice to turn in her resignation.
Again, she chose to do so right away. While he faced a lot of bad press over his decision to ask Hunt to resign, Minnis was of course well within his authority as leader to do so. Hunt was likewise well within her rights to step aside right away, particularly as the information was already out, some of it misinformation.
Martin
As some within the party chat about and assess Minnis’ recent exchange with the young former senator, they are also waiting to see who he will appoint to fill the position left vacant by her departure.
The talk of Nicole Martin is not sitting well with some in the party. Some observers, within and outside the FNM, believe the impact of such an appointment on the labor movement would be negative as it could affect Martin’s ability to be independent in her push for the rights of her members.
Such an appointment could compromise her in the labor movement, some believe. The hotel union is the largest union in the country and Martin’s voice is an important one in the movement. Indeed, some of Martin’s members might view such an appointment as too political. If she becomes a senator, it might give weight to a recent statement made in the House of Assembly by Marco City MP Gregory Moss that the unions’ voice has become too political.
“...It seems the unions’ voice has become so political that they have become paralyzed and have compromised the interest of their members for the political loyalty of the leaders of those unions,” he said. “I call upon the unions [to] represent your people and not your political loyalties. You are not politicians. You are trade unionists and if you want to be politicians, get elected to this house. But when you are out there you do your job and we’ll do ours. You can only serve one master at a time.”
Others, however, might see Martin’s appointment, if it happens, as a plus for labor. One political pundit said it would give labor a voice at the legislative level.
“Labor can only gain from having their concerns represented at this level,” he said.
Perhaps it is Minnis’ view that such an appointment would give the party a grassroots, pro-worker image, which would be beneficial to the FNM heading into the next election. It is not clear whether Minnis will appoint Martin, but if he does the FNM would no doubt be reminded of its criticisms of South Beach MP Cleola Hamilton, who continued to serve as president of the Bahamas Nurses Union long after she was elected to Parliament. To be fair, she is also parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and much of party’s criticisms centered around that fact.
National Review understands that the other names Minnis has been considering are Lanisha Rolle, an attorney who has been a most vociferous, vehement and vigorous defender of Minnis and the Minnis agenda on talk radio; business woman Shonel Ferguson, the former FNM candidate for Fox Hill and a former track star, and attorney Monique Gomez, the former FNM candidate for South Beach, who is president of the FNM’s Women’s Association.
While it is unclear at the moment who will be Minnis’ pick, what is clear is that if he is to avoid any more firestorm over his axing of Heather Hunt, the replacement has to be another woman. We remind again that Minnis is not the only party leader who has to make a choice on a senator. More than three months after PLP Senator Cheryl Bazard resigned, Prime Minister Perry Christie still has not yet named a senator. We wonder whether he remembers he still has to.
In response to a National Review question last week, he was most critical of Minnis’ decision to send Hunt packing. Christie said he was “surprised” that Minnis asked the Free National Movement’s only female senator to resign from the Senate because she has “great appeal”.
While many Bahamians do not pay attention to the work of the Senate — as it has gained the reputation as being a rubber stamp — Senate picks are sometimes viewed with great interest. In rare cases, exits from the Senate could spark great political tension, however.
We remember the resignation of Edison Key, then a PLP, under the first Christie administration. More than a month passed before the public knew that Key resigned. He said he had, had it up to his eyeballs in dealing with Christie.
Last year, Minnis fired John Bostwick (the former FNM candidate for Bains Town and Grants Town) from the Senate after Bostwick refused to resign although he had been charged in relation to an illegal ammunition matter. Minnis’ initial botching of that firing left some shaking their heads, not unlike the response to his decision in relation to Hunt late last month.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
