Richardson Thanks By-Election Voters

H. Anthony Richardson, the PLP candidate in the Devonshire South Central bye-election held on November 1st, issued a statement thanking the voters of Devonshire South Central.

“The entire day was filled with a wide cross section of voters, which demonstrates that voters remain engaged in the democratic process and care about the future of Bermuda,” said Mr Richardson.

“Some political pundits are trying to over analyse the results but the fact is that the votes were approximately the same for each party when compared to the General Election in 2007. The number of independent votes was relatively small.”

“On this basis, I thank the voters for demonstrating a willingness to maintain the same level of support for the PLP as opposed to a decreased support.”

The OBA’s Craig Cannonier won the by-election with 504 votes [82.89%], while Mr Richardson was a distant second with 75 votes [12.34%] and Independent David Sullivan received 29 votes [4.77%].

Mr Richardson’s full statement is below:

I would like to take this opportunity to say a sincere ‘thank you’ to the voters of Devonshire South Central – Constituency #12. As a first time candidate, I found canvassing to be quite exhilarating!

On most occasions, we were welcomed at the door step. On several occasions we were invited inside to discuss voter concerns including the economy, healthcare, education and crime.

At least 3 voters called us back for extended discussions about their concerns and proposed solutions. The longest of the ‘call backs’ was for 1 and ½ hours. I now intend to use the information to recommend solutions to the PLP.

I was especially pleased to meet some of the seniors in the area and look forward to the opportunity to meet them again, hopefully with a larger vehicle to take them for a short ride.

There were at least 2 voter examples that provided tremendous inspiration for me and I want to use them to demonstrate the commitment to, and value of, voting. On the advance polling day, we were all inspired by one voter who made his way to the polling station despite his physical limitations.

In order to do so, he had to get his daughter to take him to the Ministry of Health to ‘prove he had physical limitations’ and qualified for the advance poll. He then had to endure some physical discomfort to get to the polling station. As he left, he beamed with pride at the fact that he had been able to cast that ‘oh so important vote’ that was fought for by his generation.

The second instance occurred at about 7 pm on polling day. A mother came and voted and we asked about the other members of her household. We were told that they were not going to vote. After discussion she went home and returned with her 19 year old son at about 7:45 who then cast his first vote in an election!

I hope that other young people will be encouraged to vote in the General Election since voting is a unique opportunity to influence the future of Bermuda.

The entire day was filled with a wide cross section of voters, which demonstrates that voters remain engaged in the democratic process and care about the future of Bermuda.

Some political pundits are trying to over analyse the results but the fact is that the votes were approximately the same for each party when compared to the General Election in 2007. The number of independent votes was relatively small.

On this basis, I thank the voters for demonstrating a willingness to maintain the same level of support for the PLP as opposed to a decreased support.

Two of the lasting memories from the campaign will be that I visited areas of Bermuda that I had never seen before and the common desire of many of the voters to work toward a better Bermuda for our children and grandchildren.

Until we meet again

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