Jeanne Atherden Elected New OBA Leader
[Updating] The OBA is holding their Party General Conference and Elections this evening [Nov 18] with five positions up for election: OBA Party Leader, Deputy Leader, Party Chairperson, and two Party Deputy Co-Chairpersons.
Earlier this week, the OBA confirmed that Jeanne Atherden, Craig Cannonier, and Patricia Gordon-Pamplin are standing for OBA Leader, while Leah Scott is the sole candidate for Deputy Leader.
Simone Barton and Senator Nick Kempe are standing for Party Chair, while Justin Mathias and Senator Nandi Outerbridge are standing for the Party Deputy Co-Chairperson positions.
The meeting is being held at Vasco Da Gama in Hamilton, and all three leadership candidates were seen arriving earlier in the evening.
People have been seen coming and going from the building, and some of those seen arriving — while we were present — included Deputy Leader candidate Leah Scott, Senator Nick Kempe, Justin Mathias, MP Dr Grant Gibbons, MP Cole Simons, MP and former Premier Michael Dunkley, former Deputy Leader Bob Richards and more.
The results are expected in later this evening, and we will update as able.
Update 10.11pm: People are starting to leave Vasco, we have seen people include Mr Cannonier, Justin Mathias, Ms Scott and Senator Kempe leave so far and they seem to be heading across the street to OBA headquarters. No official results have been provided yet.
Update 10.29pm: Jeanne Atherden has been elected the new leader of the OBA winning 90 votes [37.3%] to defeat Patricia Gordon-Pamplin who won 82 votes [34%] and Craig Cannonier who won 69 votes [28.6%].
Leah Scott is the new Deputy Leader by acclamation, the Chairperson election saw Senator Nick Kempe win, earning 177 votes [73.4%] to defeat Simone Barton who received 65 votes [26.7%], while Justin Mathias and Senator Nandi Outerbridge are the Party Deputy Co-Chairpersons by acclamation.
The official results:
Update 10.44pm: Leah Scott, the new OBA Deputy Leader, says she is excited to hold the position and the OBA plans to rebuild.
Leah Scott says she is excited to be the OBA Deputy Leader, and said they are going to rebuild | #Bermuda | https://t.co/Uw3fGkwEwW pic.twitter.com/dA2uRLYYYD
— Bernews (@bernewsdotcom) November 19, 2017
Update 10.57pm: The newly elected OBA Leader Jeanne Atherden pictured with the newly elected OBA Chairman Senator Nick Kempe this evening
Update 11.11pm: Speaking after the election, Ms Atherden said, “We can get on with building our team and becoming the Opposition that Bermuda needs. Because going forward, you want us to be a viable, robust Opposition because that helps the Government stay focused on its job, and it makes sure that Bermuda gets the type of Government that it needs.”
“Together, we will be able to rebuild the party and make people appreciate the fact that we want to do things for Bermuda. We all, when we came together from the very beginning, it was one Bermuda working for all Bermudians. And that’s still our vision. That’s still the values that we hold.”
Asked about the next election in a few years, Ms Atherden said, “We have to get started right away because there’s no time to waste.
“We have to reconnect, and we have to turn around and build the structure and get the people to come back into the room and then turn around, work on making sure that we listen, that’s a big thing that has to happen, we have to listen to what the people of Bermuda are telling us.
“And then we have to explain to them what we’re going to try and do about it, because it’s a two way street. It’s never a one way street, it’s a two way street.”
They could truly do without their new deputy chairs. But congratulations to everyone else!
Yaaaaaawwwwwnnnn
yup I agree Nandi I know nothing Outerbridge what a joke…empty barrel being used !
Guess they had to take what was left at the bottom…Pat represented the UBP and Craig was a busted failure. Jeanne didn’t even have the decency to visit her constituents in Pembroke West and she almost lost. First order of business for Jeanne? Tell Mike Dunk to sit down and be quiet!
No the milkman must be all he can be. UBP 4EVER
In the end she is just like Craig a pawn until the real leader Jeffy comes in like mike did.
Craig “No one likes to be deceived or tricked. I believe that based on those lessons having seen the good, the bad and the ugly I am well equipped to go forward.
“If people want to bring up Jetgate and the likes — the reason nothing came of it is because there never was anything.
THIS IS WHY PEOPLE DON’T RESPECT YOUR PAERT AND THIS WHY YOU LOST THE LAST ELECTION. THE OBA KICKED YOU TO THE CURB FOR A REASON!!
PLEASE STOP MAKING DUMB EXCUSES AND TELL BERMUDA VOTERS THE REASON THEY GAVE YOU THE FOOT TO a$$$ WHEN YOU WAS LEADER/PREMIER!!
party
Same process.
Surrogate makes way for Kempe.
Jeff is fake and the OBA have figured it out. He has bad attendance in house of Assembly and doesn’t actually do anything.
As a PLP voter I would say you’re full of so much @#$# that the toilet is jealous. Jeff is more like a brother and understands what the average man is going through. Although I’m PLP he has always respected and spoke to me. Unlike some other (wht) segment of Bermudians that don’t speak when a (blk) man or woman leaves the oba/ubp and joins PLP.
When you understand that you will understand why OBA is a failed social experiment. If Jeff joined the PLP he would see all his friends in the OBA treat him like garbage.
Its not personal that they would treat him like garbage, thats how they treated Dr.Barbara Ball and everybody else who supports P.L.P. or B.I.U.
Its engrained Historically they cant help it.
100% TRUE. Jeff join the PLP and you will see who the oba really is up and personal!!
Dont think that will go down well with his sister.
Uh oh, Craig is likely to resign from the OBA and run over to the plp. Wayne and Jahmal are waiting to give him a big hug.
Well, maybe not Wayne, he doesn’t want anybody to get the wrong idea if he hugs Craig.
First he has to burn his Surrogate card and denounce his allegiance publically, then have a 6 month probation period exposing de shady dealings from JetGate to Airport deal.
Then again they dont need him, they have enough former Surrogates.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Not much of a choice frankly – though the person with the least baggage won and she is a pleasant lady.
The older OBA MPs who are holding safe seats need to step down to give way to some dynamic young people to run in these constituencies, so they can gain experience in order to be ready to lead the party in the near future. Then the party might have a chance to survive. It is no disrespect to MP Atherden, I am sure that she will put in ever effort, work hard and try to hold the current Government accountable. But the current crew of OBA MPs belong in the history books, as the clowns who refused to listen, thought they were smarter than everyone, didn’t bother to canvas, were arrogant and had no idea how the common man felt nor did they care. The new opposition leader will need to be a force to just ensure that her own members do more than take a government paycheque and please, please Dunkley needs to go and don’t even think about bringing Faye back or I will vote for the PLP next election!
The oba/ ubp is proven they can’t win another election.
They only won in 2012 because people thought they might be different with CC as leader and gave them a chance.
Once CC was removed that was the formalization that the oba is really just the ubp and people won’t vote for them as showed in the polls.
They oba still doesn’t understand what the majority of the black community want and need
And now the PLP is gonna start cutting Financial Assistance..I would expect to see people protesting in the streets again when that happens, right??
No, when Zane cuts benefits for the working class they pretend they like it.
I have lost faith in OBA…. I hope the PLP does this country proud. Sorry Pamplin wish you were our next leader…But looks like PLP supporter now,,,,…..
You really think Jeanne Atherden is Jeff Baron’s pawn? !? Ludicrous! !!
When a party lies to the voters. It because they don’t respect you enough to be honest and they think the voters are too stupid to know the difference.
The woman is a pawn and should not be leader. I rather watch a loquat tree grow.
Time to reincarnate the original BDA Party Mr. Cannonier these people have no respect for you anymore.
Why must the GAMES continue…..?
Best wishes to your futures ,and to our’s, we need this group to rebound and rebound as strong as possible, the hole they will need to climb out of is already very deep and watching how the current admin is going will be much deeper. Give us hope that there are better days ahead
hhhmmm….
Could this be the same woman who was initially OPPOSED to mammograms annually??
Monitoring needed.
oh Dear OBA, talk about scraping the barrel. Just in case you didn’t realize your new leader lacks any resembelence of a personality. I mean the tree in my front garden has more personality. If it was really about connecting with the voters then your deputy leader would be the party leader.
As long as people like Toni Daniels , lea, and the ubp oldies are in there the oba will never win another election.
The peoples will never vote them in again.
There gotta be a new party started that has no affiliations to ubp.
Dunno whether to laugh or cry
BERMUDA WHEN WILL YOU REALLY COME TO TERMS WITH YOUR RACIAL DIVSION AND HEAL US AS A COUNTRY AND BRING US TOGETHER AS ONE.
OH stupid me that would never happen, politics will see to it that we stay divided, because that’s how we win elections black base against white base. And if we became one and had a GRAY BASE, then BOTH OBA AND PLP would lose. So it is in the best interest of both parties to keep us as a nation divided so that one of them can win the elections and we as a people end up the darn losers.
No “Eugene”. That would be an overwhelmingly white base with a black face just like it was during the 60′s. In fact the OBA/UBP still clings to the old Sir Henry Tucker/Henry Vesey model from the 1960′s.
Which is nothing but typical Bermudian paternalism warmed over and over and over, decade after decade after decade.
Also remember that black support for the PLP was driven by a reaction or response to the white communities racism during that period and beyond and as long as they perpetuate the old Sir Henry Tucker 1960′s racist, paternalistic model the vast majority of Bermuda’s black community will not support it.
It is therefore a false equivalence to equate black support for the PLP and white support for the UBP/OBA as many whites attempt to do. It is morally reprehensible.That too is racist.
YOU are the one that hasn’t moved on. You and the PLP. Young people today, thankfully, don’t care what colour or sexual orientation their friends are.
Racial Division has been in Bermuda since we came here and worked for FREE for hundreds of years and in de last 60 years Civil Rights have been improving.
So how can you heal a sickness that you have a problem dialoguing about, neglecting the fact that Black proffesional employees get paid less then their white conterparts and that we still live in a racist society.
But you want to bring us together as one, thats like playing the Monopoly game and you go around the board 4 times and buy up all the property and let me out of jail and say make it around the best way you can.
This system and its laws were stratigized to keep us divided, so before write your wish list to Santa, it is what it is.
Blacks have been mistreated for the last few centuries and you want to put the blame on us when we participate in white events, join their clubs and political parties, but on the flip side ………..
Mmmmmm something wrong with this picture.
I hate politics in Bermuda and it’s all because of the dumb comments that people leave behind.
Not to worry, I have hope. Nobody is bigger than THE PEOPLE. Look at what the Zanu PF party did in Zimbabwe! Unbelievable.
Lol, you choose who?
Time for a new party. You have now failed and gave up with this choice of leader.
hey ace girl ..please put Nick as new senate leader that poor clueless Nandi doesn’t say or do anything… its always Nick or better still ask clueless 2 Cole to step aside he boring.. Best Wishes
The results of this contest proves that this political party is still punch drunk after that bitter defeat in July .
the pinky finger ANY OBA member is better than the entire PLP put together! just wait when the PLP spend all the money again and can’t show where it went. The OBA earned money for Bermuda, the PLP loses it. It’s a shame we don’t teach basic economics in public schools.
The daily quoted disgraced ex premier CC and OBA party leader candidate , as saying hims was deceived … Who Knew … Deceit is prevalent in the OBA /UBP . Perhaps he was deceived again this weekend . It looks like PGP was duped as well !