OBA’s Andrew Simons To Run In Pembroke Central

May 22, 2012

[Updated with video] The One Bermuda Alliance confirmed this afternoon [May 22] that Andrew Simons will stand for the Opposition in Constituency #17 Pembroke Central. Mr Simons will match up against Walton Brown, as the PLP has already confirmed him as their candidate for the area.

L-R: Senator Toni Daniels, Michael Branco, OBA Leader Craig Cannonier, Mr Simons, Jeanne Atherden:

Mr Simons, the son of former UBP Cabinet Minister Gerald Simons, works in the insurance industry at Arch Reinsurance, as well as serving as an officer in the Bermuda Regiment. He successfully completed courses at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and the Infantry Battle School at Brecon, in Wales

He went to school locally at West Pembroke Primary and Berkeley Institute, and spent three months in Zimbabwe as a volunteer with Mashambanzou Care Trust after finishing secondary school.

The 30-year-old attended Stanford University in California as a Bermuda Government scholar and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in chemical engineering.

OBA Leader Craig Cannonier is pictured below with Mr Simons:

Mr Simons said, “I am running in this election because the current Progressive Labour Party government has failed the very Bermudians who struggle the most. The government has not been careful with our money; their priorities have been misguided.

“I am impatient for change. However, I am not yet cynical about government, because I still believe in the transformative power of good policies, which can only come about through the democratic process. I am stepping up to offer voters a different choice.”

The seat is presently held by the PLP’s Wayne Perenchief who won 56.5% of the vote vs the UBP ‘s Austin Warner [39.64%] and Independent candidate Harold Darrell [3.09%] in 2007.

The OBA has rolled out 27 candidates thus far, with 9 remaining. The areas that the OBA has not yet announced candidates for are: C#34 Sandys South Central, C#32 Southampton West, C#29 Southampton East, C#20 Pembroke South West, C#18 Pembroke West Central, C#16 Pembroke East Central, C#14 Devonshire North West, C#8 Smith’s South and C#1 St. George’s North.

Mr Simons full statement follows below:

Good morning everyone,

My name is Andrew Simons, and it is an honour for me to have been chosen to stand as the One Bermuda Alliance candidate for constituency 17, Pembroke Central.

All of Bermuda converges in this part of Pembroke – mechanics, teachers, shopkeepers, barbers and many others.

Walk from the Green lantern building north to Dandy Town, past the old Berkeley, over Mount Hill and down the steps of Stepney lane to North Shore. Walk from C-Mart to Bernard’s Park, past the House of India to the gates of the Sunshine League. Continue across Court Street, past the Dellwood school, Bull’s Head, BAA, and back along Serpentine Road, and you will see all the work that goes on here.

Right in the middle, is Euclid Avenue and Cemetery Road where my great grandfather, Earlington Simons, once ran the Deluxe Cleaners and Dyers with his brothers.

These landmarks remind me of the vitality of this island and our potential for progress, but also of our responsibility to be stewards of what we have.

I grew up in Spanish point, attended West Pembroke Primary school and graduated from the Berkeley Institute before going to the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. I attended Stanford University in California as a Bermuda Government scholar and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in chemical engineering. For two years I worked at EMC, a big technology company in Boston, before moving back to Bermuda five years ago to work in reinsurance.

I was called up by the Bermuda Regiment when I got back, and I have served as an officer for the past three years.

As an officer, I’m responsible for the welfare of my troops. I have seen them and their families struggle to find jobs, pay for health insurance, negotiate the court system, and keep a roof over their heads. I have seen them carry the weight of traumas that they have never been able to address.

Unfortunately as our country has slipped into debt, this situation has become more common. We need to reorder our spending priorities. We must focus on preventing the problems my soldiers face, problems shared by families throughout the community, we must intervene earlier when the problems do arise.

I am running in this election because the current Progressive Labour Party government has failed the very Bermudians who struggle the most. The government has not been careful with our money; their priorities have been misguided.

I am impatient for change. However, I am not yet cynical about government, because I still believe in the transformative power of good policies, which can only come about through the democratic process.

I am stepping up to offer voters a different choice.

I want to help build the foundations of a viable and vibrant society, a society in which people’s basic needs are met, a society in which people live with dignity in a community where we feel and understand the connections we have with one another.

Politics, like life, is about choices.

The Progressive Labour Party had an opportunity to address the issues that have divided us from a position of strength, as the Government of Bermuda. They haven’t done that.

I joined the One Bermuda Alliance because I believe they offer Bermudians an alternative.

There is a new chance for a healthy discussion and dialogue about tension. Not just “about race”, nationality, or class, nor about naively “moving beyond” what we look like, “where we’re from”, or status, but about being open and honest and communicative.

Let us acknowledge the strengths of all us. Let us then, as country, stand with pride. I hope the voters of Pembroke Central will share this vision and allow me to work for you to make it come about.

Thank you.

-

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  1. allcloggedup says:

    This guys resume’ is one of the best I’ve seen.

    • Yup says:

      No doubt…a quality candidate. Def not a Koolaid drinker. Andrew don’t play.

      • UNDECIDED says:

        Good job Andrew. My question is why don’t they put you in a safe seat, you appear to know your stuff. My guess is Dunkley and the other UBP boys are using you so they can win and become Ministers! I wish the UBP would have never merged to become OBA. I don’t trust those guys. I mean really how can I as a undecided voter trust the UBP crew.

        • Truth (original) says:

          The bigger question is how can you trust this current Government?

          If you view Dunkley and the former UBP crew as such, you have to decide which is the lesser of 2 evils.

          If I were in your position (undecided), I would ask myself, Can Bermuda do 5 more years of the PLP?

          Choose wisely.

        • navin johnson says:

          and yet Dunkley did not put himself in a safe seat….and you need to change your name dude as their is nothing undecided about you

          • Cheaters says:

            Dunkley and Barritt knew the boundary was going to change. Don’t let them fool you. Barritt represented Dunkley and the likes so that they would get a large percent of whites to be included in by the next election. Its a ploy they all worked on. Put Craig in Barritt seat, barritt help make the changes and its a shoe in for Dunkley all from the old boys association club – OBA mechanics working at its best.

    • fashionista NOT says:

      Who’s the woman with the big red flower? Look ridiculous and cheap.

    • fashionista NOT says:

      did not the regiment teach him how to dress for a professional press conference? definately not his father’s bie.

  2. We Like says:

    Please don’t come to my house. I wish you the best, but you won’t get getting my vote!

    Your father was UBP and you are OBA, no big shock. Your view has been clouded by your upbringing and You are silent about your father who committed the biggest error of all, changing our education system!

    • navin johnson says:

      and what has clouded your mind We like?

      • Yup says:

        Hey “We Like” and PLP have everything they can to keep the ol’ UBP policies going. The PLP out UBP’ed the UBP…!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Hypocrites says:

      Another sheeple

    • Rory says:

      Good to know people like you that have such a progressive atitude to move this country forward. You should be proud.

      Holding grudges based on the past never solves anything.. it just prevents positivity for the future

    • Hypocrites says:

      You mean the change that the PLP constantly vied for while in Opposition due to their “clouded belief” that the current system was based on white supremacy? You know the Cambridge curriculum which all of a sudden has been reinstated by the PLP Government?

      Or do you mean the change in the system which was signed off on by a bi=partisan committee which included PLP members?

      That change in the education system?

    • allcloggedup says:

      And 15 yrs later its no better….ITS WORSE!!!!!

    • Andrew Simons says:

      @We Like,
      Thank you for your good wishes. I would certainly value listening to what you have to say and how you see things, whether or not you’d consider voting for me.

      It is also fair question to ask about my father, his politics, and his time in the UBP government 20 years ago. I don’t see myself as sheepishly “following in his footsteps”, but instead as following a family tradition of service in the community. My uncle Bussie, Warren Simons, was president of Warwick Workmen’s club 30 years ago. My mother was the head of the Adult Education School board when I was growing up. I’ve watched people in my family step up to the challenge of leadership before, so it doesn’t seem like an alien concept.

      It is also fair to point out that I was silent on my father’s seven years as minister of Education. I couldn’t possibly answer for or take credit for everything he’s done in his life.

      I was educated by the “old system” and saw the flaws. I took the transfer exam 20 years ago and saw friends with low stanines written off by the system as dummies, before they ever got a chance to reveal their aptitude in one thing or another.

      I wrote curriculum for the “new system” and saw a different set of flaws, which better explain the current state of education than the switch from primary/secondary schools to primary/middle/senior secondary schools.

      Over a period of five years, Stanford University wrote the world’s best high school computer science curriculum for Cedarbridge and then Berkeley.

      It was called variously the XL Education Initiative, the Stanford Bermuda Computing Curriculum Project, and finally BTeC (Bermuda Technology Education Collaborative).

      The project was led by two professors Eric Roberts and Bridget Barron. Roberts wrote the textbooks for Stanford’s introductory computer science classes. Baron was a professor from the Stanford School of Education and ensured that the project could credibly measure its effectiveness. The teaching materials were created by superstar graduate students in the computer science program. I participated since I had just gone through the existing curriculum at Berkeley. Marissa Mayer, a top executive at Google, was on that first team until she left to join the start-up as employee number 20. Michael Douglas narrated a documentary about the project. I worked with Cedarbridge alumni who stand out because they program well.

      This curriculum was unusually good, yet as soon as maintenance transitioned to the current government, they put Abdallah Ahad in charge and the project withered. Meredith Ebbin and The Bermuda Sun ran exposes revealing his dodgy credentials but Terry Lister refused to fire him for months and months.
      Stanford’s computer science department has created companies like Yahoo, and Google, and Instagram, yet everyone involved in the project describes it as a highlight of his career. It’s now just a collection of dead links :
      http://www.btec.bm/
      http://www.stanford.edu/~barronbj/projects/bermuda.html

      I can tell you that the experience of watching this government mismanage something so promising in education, something that I personally worked on, shaped my views on this government more than any indoctrination I would have received as a 10-year old.

      • GVT Mechanic says:

        What a brilliant response Mr Simons – good luck, we need people like you to stand up and be counted. I wish you every success in the election.

      • Rory says:

        Very interesting Mr. Simons… very. All the best

      • Truth (original) says:

        Mercy.

        Articulate, balanced and level headed. I love it, I love it !

        Maintain your composure Andrew. It is refreshing.

        • allcloggedup says:

          Simons is the type of guy that gets my vote. He came from the same government school system (not Saltus, BHS, MSA) when Gerald was Education Minister. How many present government MPs have their kids in the public system that Ahad helped to ruin…… Hoping the voters in PWC take note.

          • Apples from apples says:

            yes we came up in that system and did well eh? but after his father destroyed the system we now have to send our grandchildren to private shcool. lets see where they new OBA people sending their children and grand children. Not to public school because they screwed it up royally.

      • Apples from apples says:

        response was NOT brilliant – same old writers of the UBP payroll now on with a pay raise on the OBA payroll: the don writing style is all over this. His father was head of argus and how did argus do financially last year? His father was in charge of education and it failed so many bermudians, but he kept his privillaged son out of the hot education water? No, this OBA candidate won’t get my support

      • Concerned Citizen says:

        Ummmmmm, young man, I’m sure you are excited with your new found publicity, but can you express your feelings towards the Bermuda scholarship that you received to further your education to the point that you can prouldly proclaim the above? How did that shape your views, as I’m sure that inspite of your high school grades, there were students of equal ability but lesser financial means, who the government overlooked for your benefit? Political lesson for the day…..look before you leap….weigh your words before you speak, and you wouldn’t be a lost/mis-educated/arrogant……..

  3. Truth (Original) says:

    Congrats Andrew !

    You have my support mate.

  4. Bda Speaks says:

    Congrats Mate and I wish you the best. Interesting photo! I guess Dunkley and Grant were busy today! Shame how the OBA are putting these young people in situations destined to damage their resolve and keep the UBP members in safe seats.

    • Mr Cranky says:

      This is a high quality candidate and you’re talking nonsense. He is the type of person who might easily persuade people who are fed up with the current ineptitude and constant scandals. Here is a real option – an impressive person, a leader, who has something concrete to offer.

      • We Like says:

        Ineptitude and scandals.. you got a pretty open mind there eh

        • Mad Dawg says:

          Aren’t there examples of both just about every week? That’s what a new government could change. Bring some competence and integrity to things.

        • navin johnson says:

          tough to avoid ineptitude and scandals We Like as they are the centerpiece of the last 14 years of the current Government….how could you avoid or deny that?

    • Pastor Syl says:

      Seems to me that someone who went to school at West Pembroke and Berkeley must have some ties to the area in which he is running – which, to me, is appropriate. Very impressive resume, Mr. Simons. I wish you all the best.

      • hmm says:

        Agreed Pastor Syl! Which is why Walton Brown will be successful as he too attended both West Pembroke Primary School and The Berkeley Institute.

        • star man says:

          But, you know, Walton is… well, Walton. He’s like the rest of them….

  5. sanja says:

    I agree, what an awsome candidate. What he has failed to mention is that he is also a graduate of Sandhurst. All of Bermuda should be proud of this young man. IF he represents our future, then Bermuda is going to be ok.
    Well done, Mr. Simons.

    • Rory says:

      Why doesnt the OBA give him a safe seat?

      • Mad Dawg says:

        It just needs a 3% swing Rory. With a high-quality candidate like this it could very well happen.

  6. pebblebeach says:

    Unfortunately, Mr Simons, you don’t stand a chance against that other chap…his seat is safe; not because of his political views as they are somewhat warped, but because of the aree, plain and simple…

  7. sanja says:

    This makes him all the more awsone and corageous. It sounds like he may have been born to privilege, but if you look at his education and his military commitment he has never taken the easy way. This is just another difficult decision that he seems to be making so unselfishly. Bermuda deserves it.

  8. lionfish says:

    What is his/the OBA’s stance on conscription? Will he/they have the testicular fortitude to fight for getting rid of this archaic system? Do what’s right..,not just what’s been done in the past.

  9. navin johnson says:

    Berkeley,Hotchkiss,Stanford,Sandhurst and a career in International Business….if ever there was a perfect candidate this young man is it….perfect example of why party politics is useless for a place as small as Bermuda….

    • Rory says:

      So why have him in a seat that he will most likely lose… Doesnt make much sense.

      • navin johnson says:

        perhaps they believe that his background and education and business experience and connections will win out over 14 years of failure and that common sense will prevail? if its such a safe seat that may explain why someone like Walton Brown would be proposed? doesn’t make much sense either….

  10. Justice not Peace says:

    Guess all the OBA members will soon be outfitted with leather cases and the like soon enough.

  11. Awake says:

    @We Like: I actually feel sorry for people like you! You’re miserable and you know what they say about misery! Unfortunately, you didn’t mean anything kind in your comment by saying “I wish you the best”. Apparently, YOUR view of Mr. Simons has been “clouded by YOUR upbringing”! P.S. It might be a good idea to let Mr.Simons know now who you are and where you live so he doesn’t waste HIS valuable time stopping by at your house!

  12. hmm says:

    Andrew is a good candidate but the OBA yet again are running their ‘new and exciting’ candidates in losing seats. It isn’t fair to the candidates.
    They are too fresh and new to be tossed into the wild and forced to sink or swim.
    I hope Andrew doesn’t become too jaded after the election because he does have a lot to offer.
    I do know that the PLP candidate Walton Brown has worked hard for both the PLP and the wider community in general and has been canvassing hard. I expect him to win this seat handily. He is one that doesn’t subscribe to race based politics and tends to call it as he sees it, whether its following the party line or not.

    • Cha says:

      Never know he could win. People might be tired of the nonsense and the thought of having a well educated and intelligent individual representing them with new ideas to benefit their live maybe appealing. Perhaps they will take a chance. The fact that it is considered a guaranteed loss for him shows that people are not open to individuals who actually can make a difference and provide creative ideas to help Bermuda get out of the deepening slump that it is currently in. Bermudian politics is nothing but a big fallacy: false appeal to tradition

      For those that don’t know that means that just because something was done in the past does not mean that it will continue to be correct in the future.

      Good luck mate

  13. Hmmmmm says:

    This is a bright young man who should be encouraged to offer himself for public service. I do not support his choice of Party but that has nothing to do with his quality as a candidate. He is exactly what we need in this country on both sides of the divide; intelligence, committment and drive. I wish they’d run him to replace Cole Simons or Trevor Moniz then the standard of debate would be elevated in the House. Good for him.

  14. AverageBoy4Me says:

    This is nothing but a UBP/OBA conspiracy to try and get their candidates fairly voted in so they can win a general election…such tactics are undemocratic, dishonest, racist and unjust to the hardworking constituents of Pembroke Central who want nothing more than to be told how to think (as it should be). it is our God-given right to stay uninformed and confused for the benefit of the PLP, and the fact that the UBP/OBA thinks they can get away with this is pathetic, and frankly offensive, to black people who WANT to vote against their own best interests.

  15. navin johnson says:

    I could not agree with you more…..the nerve

  16. My two sense says:

    Bermuda we have failed ourselves regardless of who’s in government. We as residents do not hold our MPs accountable and we don’t gve them the boot when poor jobs are done. Many of our MPs really fail to really carry forth and work the desires and concers of the area residents they represent. The young man grew up in this area, but does he live there? Does he have a vested persnal interest in Pembroke Central…and that is one of the problems with many candidates of the OBA/UBP. How can those that have no ties/relationships with the thousands of people that they represent, be their representative. Sigh…so tired of this political fiasco!

  17. Jim Bean says:

    rasie the standard of debate? are plp supporters really proud of the debate skills of the deputy premier or zane or walter roban? wow!!!! also wehre are the dynamic young people from the plp? which seats are they in?

    • Come correct says:

      To be fair, I think Marc Bean has the potential, I just can’t get past the fact his mentality seems so similar to an ex-premier of ours. He also needs to watch how he words things, he works for us, not above us.

  18. M.T. Pockets says:

    I can’t understand why some people are judging Mr Simons by who is father is/was. These are the same people that ask us to forget Rolfe’s unfortunate mistake many years ago but they now want to judge Mr Simons, not on his own merits but on the political history of his father. Would love an explanation of how this makes sense, but perhaps because it is politics it will never make sense. I live in hope.

    • LOL (original TM*) says:

      These are the same people that judge whites by the whites from 60 – 400 years ago don’t be so surprised at that. Most of them are in the 40 and up range (guestimate from Age Concern stats and by the ages of those that regularly call talk shows). This group of people in both races need to bury the hatchet if they truly care for Bermuda’s youth. If they don’t all they are doing is setting up history (ie the Israel and Pakistanis…the Christians vs. Muslims…..whites vs. blacks)and they all say they have learned from history when they are just repeating it and they can’t see it…… oh well remember to /………….

      LOL don’t let politicians govern how you act and think! Enjoy the holiday see you at the parade you will see me.lol lol lol

  19. Opressed says:

    Congratulations Mr. Simons, you sir, have more brains than the entire PLP put together. I wish you well!

  20. tricks are for kids says:

    Andrew I don’t know you, but so far I am impressed!…..You’re not in my Constituency but IF you were you would have my vote……Great choice OBA!! And to the naysayers (pebblebeach and crew) how can you be so sure that he will not garner the votes of those in his Constituency? NOTHING in life is guaranteed so with that said there is NO guarantee that “The other chap” will win….Love your response to “We Like”

  21. SpecialGIrl4You says:

    But let’s be honest, it is only natural that having grown up in a UBP household, it is without a doubt that it would influence Simmons decision to run for the OBA/UBP. Even if he denies it, this does has a big impact upon his choice, so he fools no about his decision. Family’s involved in politics does have an impact upon the children. Only a few children do not follow in their parents political footsteps, and there are many reasons for that if one were to examine the family dynamics. The performance of the PLP had little to do with his decision, as he has always had a bias attitude towards the PLP. But, it seems that OBA/UBP are searching hard to up the game of finding more qualified candidates, even they do lack political experience.

    It is understandable that the OBA/UBP fans feel the need to defend and praise the roll out of this young man. After all they do not have too many candidates that have that “WOW Factor” as the PLP does. It seems to be a need for them to focus on one new candidate to defend the roll-out of the others that are somewhat questionable. One would have to observe that most of the safe seats have been given to the old guard UBP folks….now calling themselves OBA/UBP. Why not give some of their new faces a safe seat??… Looks like they do not want to change the status quote of the UBP/OBA. A real message to signal a change would be put some of their newest persons in safe seats…but many may not be experience as of yet! May be the next roll out will see a safe seat new face. Why such a gap in the roll-out process? Is it because there is a hard fought search to gain appropriate persons to run? Seem like there is some difficulty there…have many that want to run, but not up to sniff.

    As Silly Seasons continues….be interesting to watch the roll-outs and rolls-in…..and crazy behaviours continue………Cool down…folks….

    • Mad Dawg says:

      Yeah, PLP has one or two candidates with “wow” factor. Burch and Commissiong come to mind. Wow.

      I notice you’re keeping them out of sight though. Don’t let them in front of the cameras too much or the damage will be unrepairable, I guess.

    • Come correct says:

      You’re dribbling on your keyboard again…

    • Legacy Corrupts says:

      Specialgirl4you why do you support the PLP? Because you grew up in a PLP household, because you identify with being black and therefore feel like you’re supposed to vote PLP or because why? If you were so confident in the PLP and a special girl than why don’t you put yourself up to run for them and get some of those old dogs out of the race. Oh that’s right because they’re in safe seats and won’t give them up so easily. Sounds like the same sort of thing except Andrew has the integrity to stand up and fight. You just sit at your computer and rant on the PLP behalf. Stand up for your country like this young man… If you’re so special…

    • What?? says:

      “After all they do not have too many candidates that have that “WOW Factor” as the PLP does.”

      You must mean WOW as in “WOW I can’t believe how self-serving these candidates can be” or “WOW, the PLP running Bermuda is like a slow moving train wreck”.

      Specialgirl4you, aside from your str*pper name, you really are just that…SPECIAL.

      • Hypocrites says:

        WOW the PLP was able to bring down Bermuda on so many levels in the space just over a decade.

        I mean WOW that does take a special type of WOW factor to accomplish such a feat. Just WOW

      • Hypocrites says:

        WOW you actually chose Rolfe the Racist as a candidate. I mean WOW

      • allcloggedup says:

        hahahahahh stripper name…..hahahhahah now that’s funnie!

    • star man says:

      Sorry SpecialNeedsGirl but I refuse to read your distorted view of politics any more… the PLP boilerplate rhetoric you spew over & over & over again is just too much for me to handle. I simply will not deal with your lies, spin, distortions of the truth, and your rewriting of history. Your incredibly poor grammar. You contribute nothin positive to any debate! In fact you do not even participate in a debate, you just spew the twisted PLP narrative ad nauseum… and we are sick & tired of it!!

  22. Mountbatten says:

    GreenHorn .

  23. Maria Seaman says:

    Congrats to Mr. Andrew Simons!

    I taught the young man at The Berkeley Institute. A brilliant thinker and student.

    All the very best!

    So good to see my students getting involved in what they believe in.

    Pastor Maria Seaman

  24. Carla Rose Louise Wilkinson says:

    Out with the old and in with the new, I say. Like the saying goes, “It aint over till the fat lady sings”. Don’t be too quick to discount this young man as being able to get that seat from Walton Brown. You never know. Change is a good thing. That’s the problem right there. People are so stuck on the candidates who have been around for ages, continuing to support and vote them back in. I can appreciate that they have the “experience”, etc., but what have most of these “veterans” done to better our country? I believe that they are just making things worse, for the majority of them are only looking out for themselves. It’s time for some new blood. Take the horse blinders off, people. Good day to all..

    • star man says:

      Walton’s lack of integrity is a good fit for the PLP. What a chump! Especially relating to his businesses, where some employees had great difficulty in collecting pay cheques. IIRC, it went to Court

  25. Nick Pewter says:

    Congratulations Andrew! I’m proud of you and best of luck.

  26. Scott Stewart says:

    Congratulations, Andrew! You have WOWed the voters. To those that think that your constituency is some sort of safe seat for the PLP underestimate the common sense of the voters. I know you will work hard for your constituents.

  27. LaVerne Furbert says:

    I would not expect the son of Gerald Simons to be anything but impressive when it comes to his academic qualifications. As the saying goes, an apple does not fall from the tree. I would also not expect the son of Gerald Simons to associate himself with any other political party other than the OBA. It is not unusual for families to vote the same way from generation to generation. I commend Mr. Simons for stepping forward

    • star man says:

      Congratulations LaVerne, that is the nicest thing you have ever said on line. :-)

  28. star man says:

    “After all they do not have too many candidates that have that “WOW Factor” as the PLP does.”

    BWAA-HA-HA-Ha-Ha-Ha!! Give me a break SpecialNeedsGirl!!

  29. Concerned Citizen says:

    Ummmm, all the best to the young man, and I can understand the excitement of the Oba crowd…….on a weak team, an average player appears to be a good player……but I looked at his tv interview, and I’m not impressed. His response to the question on conscription was, ummmmm, typical Oba emptiness, and youthful cluelessness……..if the Oba really think he has the quality to be a leader in the future, or even an mp in the near future, they should have ran him out Spanish point, and not against Walton brown……proven political quality

    • sanja says:

      Concerned Citizen,
      Excuse me. What are Mr. Brown’s proven political and leadership qualities? Mr. Brown may be very knowledgable on the History of Bermuda. However, we do not need a History professor in our government right now. Read his columns and listen to his radio show, it is all about the past. We need someone who represents the future and can carry us forward not back into the past. We need someone who has worked hard and has given back to this country even at his youthful age. Not someone who has depended on the government for almost every paycheck he has ever received. Walton Brown may be an expert about the past but Andrew Simons is about the future. Lets all move into the 21th century with him.

      • Concerned Citizen says:

        Sigh………..Marc bean, David Burt, Lawrence Scott, disallow rabain, John gibbons…………..and that just 5 of many…….and Walton brown is a former senator………not just a historian. Oh, btw, none of the Oba candidates under 40, can compare to what the PLP has presented.

        • Concerned Citizen says:

          Dammit! Diallo I meant….sorry

        • shaco says:

          I don’t think there is much point in tit for tat over who has the better candidates. OBA has presented good candidates as has the PLP. Many of the under 40 candidates on both sides I know personally. I think what’s telling about the OBA candidates is that we have seen a number of young Bermudians- of different races- coming forward and joining the OBA. That in and of itself speaks volumes about our generation. That there is a segment of young people that want change. They aren’t so concerned about the past as they are the future. Congratulations to Andrew. He is an exceptionally bright and caring individual and I wish him all the best.

  30. Joseph king says:

    Andrew,
    Best of luck- you’ll need it. If I may offer some advice, it would be to take a few public speaking and leadership courses. I know you did the regiment thing but let’s be honest, that place is not a breeding ground of leaders by any stretch of the imagination.

    Anyhow, from what I’ve heard of you, you’re bright but awkward. Charisma is strongest when innate but never the less can be self taught. Please take some lessons as you will need a bit more of a personality and backbone before getting many votes.

  31. sanja says:

    Mr. Simmons came to my house the other night and I was even more impressed. He may be quiet but he seems to be a listerner and a thinker. He seems to know the area and really cares about all of us. Maybe what we don’t need is another politician and instead need a few more statesman. This young man seems to have the makings of this.
    We didn’t want to like him but found that he has really impressed us and has made us think.