FORMER Free National Movement Deputy Chairman Dr Duane Sands said yesterday he has been approached by the leadership of the party to become the party’s next senator.
In an interview with The Tribune, Dr. Sands said “there have been many different conversations, from many different angles” but stressed the decision ultimately lies with FNM Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis.
His comments came one day after media reports that FNM members were agitating for Dr. Sands to replace Kwasi Thompson in the Senate as Mr Thompson reportedly is “not offering himself for the next election.”
In a leaked email thread, Ft Charlotte MP Dr. Andre Rollins urged Dr. Minnis to remove Mr Thompson “to have every Senate seat occupied by individuals who will be running in the next general election.” According to the leaked emails, Long Island MP Loretta Butler Turner, St Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman and Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn all backed Dr. Rollins’ comments.
When contacted yesterday, Dr. Sands said while he is flattered to have the support of his colleagues “no decision has been made.”
“I am a team player and if it is in the interest of the leadership of the FNM to have me contribute to the party and the country in the role as senator, I am happy and willing to serve,” Dr. Sands said.
“There have been conversations from different angles. However, what the outcome of these conversations will be is up to the leader. He makes the decision and we leave it up to him. I hope the leadership of the FNM is not made gun shy about a decision now that these comments have made their way into the public domain.”
Dr. Sands also questioned how the emails were leaked to the press but said they prove that the FNM is able to have “objective conversations” even when they disagree.
“When things like this happen, it impacts the public’s perception of the FNM but at least the public can see that the conversation was objective,” Dr. Sands said.
In the leaked email thread, Mr Chipman said the FNM was a “parked car going nowhere.” In reference to those comments, Dr. Sands said Mr Chipman was speaking candidly because he assumed the conversation was “confidential”.
“When you believe your comments are confidential, you tend to use language less measured and more impassioned than if you believe you are under a spotlight,” Dr. Sands said.
Dr. Sands previously served as a senator in the last Ingraham administration. He ran unsuccessfully for the FNM’s deputy post at the party’s convention in 2014. He was recently ratified as the FNM’s candidate for Elizabeth in the upcoming election, a seat he has lost twice to PLP candidate Ryan Pinder, once in the 2012 general election and in the 2010 bye-election.
By Sancheska Brown, Tribune Satff Reporter
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