Dear Editor,
After it became apparent to many political observers that former Free National Movement (FNM) leader and former North Abaco/Cooper's Town Member of Parliament Hubert Ingraham would keep his word and officially retire from frontline politics, I had a feeling that he wanted a native Abaconian named Greg Gomez to take his place in that constituency. Had Ingraham retired on July 19 as he had promised several days after May 7, Gomez, who had moved back to The Bahamas in August of 2011 after living in the United States for 10 years, would not have been eligible, according to the constitution, to receive the nomination for the FNM. That Ingraham would defer his official retirement until August 31 to accommodate Gomez was clear evidence that Gomez is his choice for that area. One of the prospective FNM candidates, Cay Mills, has openly criticized Ingraham for handpicking Gomez. Two other candidates, besides Gomez and Mills were vying for the FNM nomination, Perry Thomas and Jackson MacIntosh. Mills told The Nassau Guardian that he intends to run as an Independent. Obviously feeling snubbed by the opposition, the taxi driver intends to hurt the FNM in the by-election contest. After reading the Guardian article on Mills, I got the impression that he honestly expects to win. Mills' two main arguments are that he will be the only true voice for North Abaconians and that the people of that area don't know Gomez. I believe that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) will also hammer Gomez on his lengthy stay in the U.S.
Mills claims that he is campaigning night and day and getting good results. The FNM should not take him lightly. He ran as an Independent candidate in 2007 in the North Abaco constituency. He got 276 votes to Ingraham's 1,855 votes. The PLP's Fritz Bootle got 1,387 votes and Kenneth Claridge got 6 votes. Ingraham defeated Bootle by 468 votes. In the recent election, Ingraham was able to stave off his main opponent by just 379 votes. The PLP candidate got 1,856 votes and the Democratic National Alliance candidate got 39 votes. A total of 4,130 Abaconians voted on May 7. Ingraham's 2007 margin of victory shrunk by 89 votes in 2012. I find it odd that a prime minister who has spent millions in his area could only manage to win against an unknown challenger by less than 400 votes. Nevertheless, the former prime minister only won that contest because he is Hubert Ingraham. Judging from Ingraham's narrow margin of victory, I believe that Mills will pose a serious challenge for the FNM.
If Mills got nearly 300 votes in 2007 as an independent candidate, he could do the same thing again. If he manages to get 300 or 400 votes, he could play spoiler to the FNM. Mills will not win, despite his optimism. But I believe he will definitely have an enormous impact on the outcome of that race. I believe Mills will traverse throughout that area sowing the seeds of discontent among disillusioned FNMs, who are still licking their wounds after their party received a thrashing at the polls. I have no political dog in this fight. But I believe Dr. Hubert Minnis must remind North Abaconians who supported the FNM that both Mills and MacIntosh sought the PLP nomination. MacIntosh applied for the nomination in 2002, 2007 and 2012. Mills applied for it in 2012. And as I said already, he ran against the FNM as an independent in 2007. I am not saying that I endorse Gomez, but I believe that the FNM made the correct decision in rejecting the nomination bids of MacIntosh and Mills. These men are not true FNMs. No stone should be left unturned in reminding FNMs of this. Mills and MacIntosh are PLPs. The two Benedict Arnolds have no business running for the FNM. Moving forward, the FNM needs to start ratifying only bona fide FNMs. Too many closet PLPs have been given nominations to run on its ticket in the past. That is why the party has struggled to remain cohesive. While Gomez might not be an ideal candidate, he is certainly a better choice than Mills and MacIntosh. He must now go up against a tough PLP opponent in order to keep North Abaco for the FNM. At the same time, he must keep an eye over his shoulder for Mills. The independent candidate is determined to get back at Ingraham by playing political spoiler.
- Kevin Evans
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