Premier Confirms Press Secretary, Chief Of Staff
Today Premier Craig Cannonier confirmed the appointments of Dale Jackson to the position of Chief of Staff and Charmaine Burgess to the position of Press Secretary.
A statement from the Cabinet Office said, “Dale Jackson has a background in criminal psychology, mediation and conflict resolution. He brings with him a wealth of experience having worked at the Cabinet office with previous administrations.
“Premier Cannonier has directed Mr. Jackson to take a leadership and logistical role in shaping the Government’s future. Dale Jackson is a proud member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated and is a proud activist against gun violence.
“Charmaine Burgess [pictured] will serve as Press Secretary to the Premier and provide strategic communication initiatives for the Premier and his administration. She is no stranger to the field of communications and has an extensive background in print and broadcast media. She has worked as a journalist and television and radio anchor, both in Bermuda and Canada.
“Prior to taking the post as Press Secretary, Mrs. Burgess was employed at Cable & Wireless Bermuda Ltd., as a Senior Vice President, Marketing for over a decade and was the Communications Director for the Bermuda Corporate Games. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from the University of Toronto and a Masters Degree in Global Marketing from the University of Liverpool.
The Premier commented, “I am pleased to welcome both Dale Jackson and Charmaine Burgess to these challenging but vital positions. Clearly defined logistics and the delivery of strategic and consistent messaging to our numerous stakeholder groups regarding the work of this administration are essential to the Government’s success.”
Was Mr. Jackson promised this job prior to December 17, 2012? Did Mr. Jackson share any pertinent information with the OBA prior the that date?
Chief of staff? How many staff is he chief of?
Can this be seen as friends and family plan in action?
Is there a real canine barking in the AG office?
Is there a new big screen TV in Tourism office with out approval?
Is Mrs. Terry Lister now working in the cabinet office?
Lets hear the truth
we wont read any TRUTH from you,that’s a Fact!
you’re a nutjob!
Really people we look to pick any and everything to pieces.All Priemiers need and can choose their own press secretary.
Sounds like truly friends and family but the oba diehards will of course not see it that way. because only certain people are unethical
be quiet,ya only jealous you didnt get her job…but then,you’d have to grow a pair!!!
Pretty lady, qualified?
Not really
Maybe I’ve misread your comment, but what does her physical appearance have to do with her qualifications?
She’s worked in the press/media for years and has two degrees, one of which is in Communications. So she is obviously qualified.
Got any more childish questions?
That one’s gonna leave a mark Mad Dawg.
Not exactly friends and family! Dale Jackson was, of all people, Ewart Brown’s CoS!
And worked on the OBA’s election campaign!
“proud activist against gun violence.” i’ve been to numerous anti violence talks and events over the years i’ve never seen Mr. Jackson at any of them.
better take them blinkers off boyo.
Was Mr. Jackson promised this job prior to December 17, 2012? Did Mr. Jackson share any pertinent information with the OBA prior the that date?
Chief of staff? How many staff is he chief of?
Can this be seen as friends and family plan in action?
Is there a real canine barking in the AG office?
Is there a new big screen TV in Tourism office with out approval?
Is Mrs. Terry Lister now working in the cabinet office?
Lets hear the truth
You said it previously worked for Dr. Brown – who does the OBA want to bury with accusations of the mission billions of dollars? then why not hire his friends and family to join the new oba union?
I knew Dale when he was in the police. He was a decent guy. I bumped into him again when he was EB’s lacky and found him to be a pompous a&^.Bad move OBA. Imho
I remember watching a TV interview when the Premier was asked if he was going to hire these two. He strongly stated that he only had a secretary, giving the impression he planned to keep it that way. Now I see the rumours were true after all. What are these two being paid? Any so called savings made through Ministerial pay cuts will go right into two additional salaries. OK OBA pit bulls, I’ve asked legitimate questions but I eagerly await you unleasing yourselves on me!!!
wheres this interview that you remember?
No response, because there was no such TV intereview. VL’s posts are ridiculous. It’s not really worth responding to this kind of nonsense.
EB had plenty of lackeys, from Paula Cox on down!
Bernews, was there any information provided on the length of their contracts and their salaries?
No…
Ah, okay, thank you.
I wonder if they will make this information available in the future. Where media able to ask questions or was it essentially a closed press release?
The OBA is following through on one of their election promises which is to provide jobs and you are still complaining. You sound the the official opposition instead of an independent. Hahaha
A request for information concerning public funds does not constitute a complaint (other than a complaint that the information wasn’t released).
I have not criticised the appointments, just asked for more details concerning them.
Then Mr. Starling, why don’t you ask some of the previous PLP members, friends and family what some of their contracts, plans, salaries, bonus’, etc were and where some of the public funs went?! Oh of course not….FOH
Because those are already known and have been revealed many times (annually).
The length of contract, the salary, the purpose of the contract, of consultants as well as positions like this, were all revealed.
It’s likely that the OBA will keep those salaries (adjusted for inflaction) but I thought it prudent to ask.
They were “all revealed”? What about Dr Thomas, on administrative leave for months before finally getting canned? There were many calls for thebpublic to know how lmuch this man had been paid. Zane said “neither the BHB nor the Ministry of Health can reveal individual details”? Is that what you mean by “revealed”?
Can you remind us what steps you took to ensure accountability and transparency at that tme? This was in October last year. I have looked for reports of your protests to the PLP government, but can’t find any. How odd.
actually the PLP left a low secret. Ie. The 5th floor KEMH salaries.
I concur with MadDawg
Didn’t they just replace positions that have existed for years? How is that an extra expense?
Oh I forgot. Starling has been getting on his high horse recently.
Mad Dawg, is it not a legitimate question to enquire about the costs of public monies to political appointments? I would expect the same of the PLP.
I have not criticised the positions, just asked if more information would be forthcoming. You know, transparency and accountability. What the OBA ran on during the election…
Did you do the same though 3 months ago when the PLP was keeping details of salaries secret? There was a lot of public interest in the salary of the disgraced head of KEMH, and a lot more reason to know his salary. Can you remind us of the steps you took to make that information public?
Mad Dawg, to be honest the matter of the KEMH head has not been on my radar; I know nothing of it but will take a peak around the various media to get a better understanding of what you are referring to.
As regards Cabinet consultants and staff (press secretary, chief of staff) under the PLP, the relevant information (salaries) was public knowledge and one may find it if one bothers to search for it.
The above being said, I find the argument ‘but the PLP did it too’ as a poor argument. It is no different from the PLP’s ‘but the UBP did it too’ which similarly held no water as far as I’m concerned.
OBA supporters would do well to seek to be better than the PLP, not the same or worse.
Well said JStarling!
Ditto…
But where were you 3 months ago on this? It’s pretty interesting that you pick right now to get interested in this. Couldn’t be that you’re more interested in whining about the OBA, than the actual issue of transparency, could it?
Mad Dawg – where were you? Where were your protests?
My action on the term limits came from my canvassing and constituents expressing a concern about the way the OBA had backtracked on their election promise. I gave these constituents my word that I would go to the Ministry and not leave without assurances that the policy review would be made public. Mission accomplished.
Not one of my constituents ever raised the issue of KEMH with me, although many constituents before the election raised concerns about the PLP’s use of consultants, and constituents post-election have raised concerns about the OBA’s perceived continuation of this trend.
I note that you’re overly defensive on this issue, and seem more focused on defending the OBA than on the issue of transparency yourself. I have been steadfast in critiquing the PLP when they were in power and I will continue to hold anyone in power to critique.
I would rather we, as a community, could cease being so tribalistic and divided and instead unite in high expectations for our governments and are willing to act and critique when they fail to reach those expectations.
J Starling – will you publicly praise the OBA when they spend significantly less on consultants year over year? I find it no coincidence that all of a sudden now that the OBA are in power you are performing public demonstrations and making all sorts of noise when they are only two months in. Why don’t you take a back seat and critique them after they’ve been in power for a year or two? Right now you just appear to be paranoid and you’re running the risk of looking like a spectacular idiot if the OBA turns this country around in the next five years. That sounds more like an independent perspective to me…
Mad Dawg, I notice you always defend whatever the OBA does by slinging mud at what the PLP did. Did we not vote for CHANGE? Every time something happens that you know you cannot defend, you find some way to bring the PLP into it. This is a different government, and need to be held accountable for their actions, regardless of what the PLP did. I can almost predict your response- “The PLP were not held responsible.”Look who is drinking the kool-aid now…
In the communications field myself, I can vouch for Charmaine being a wise choice. I don’t want to cast aspersions but it’s not at all fair to even think that her attractiveness means she’s anything less than competent for the post.
And the friends and family connection – I know Charmaine and will say it’s unlikely. We’re both politically non-aligned.
Just to be clear, were the political staff/consultant appointments announced thus far by the Premier and his cabinet part of the 2000 jobs promised?
Were they advertised? How do we know they are “the right people” for the job when other people’s credentials were checked as well? It is obviously a friends and family deal. How woould the Premier know about Charmaine Burgess’ degrees if she never applied to an advertised posting? He obviously knew her personally, hence she got the job. Same for Dale. We have a communications dept and what staff do we need a chief for? Furthermore, it’s ridiculous to say this is part of job creation because Charmaine actually had TWO jobs- a full and part time job. I am sure there are people with similiar degrees that are out of work and would have appreciated getting a job.
dale jackson is not the man for that job he has not been at any anti gang/
gun violence talk or meetings as i have dale is out for that fat pay check just like the rest of dem oba boys what going on with the group c.a.r.t.e.l they do a good job in the streets working with the people why the oba leaders don’t give PASTOR BEAN and his worker a job.the milk man thinks he way will work ,but it will fail.fail.fail say no more.
be careful what you wish for, ‘keep it real’, it could come back to bite you in the derriere…….. do you WANT to see the island succeed, or are you like so many of the idiot posters on this site that seem to take a childish glee in pointing out (usually unfounded) negatives anywhere they can?
What are they getting paid? I recall the salaries of the PLP Press Secretaries and Chief of Staff being publicized.
Don’t we have a right to know? Or is it only a right to know under the PLP govt?
Don’t know. I can recall not having the right to know how many $millions were wasted on the PLP-appointed head of KEMH who, it turned out, didn’t have the qualifications he said he had. That was a secret.
Mr Jackson has been working as COS since the election result. Why has it taken 2 months to confirm?
And why does our Premier never participate in press conferences? All of his interviews are in very controlled environments. Smh.
anything is preferable to trying ot listen to and decipher Paula’s babbling gobbledeegook
It is probably best that he has a press secretary as he doesn’t come across as being able to handle the hot questions without losing composure. He will probably remain as delivering already prepared speeches.
WHEN IS THE ISLAND GOING TO HEAR WHO KEMH CHIEF OF STAFF IS?!
There is enough talent on the Government payroll to easily carry out the functions that these two people are being paid to do.
To hire someone (Jackson) who worked with Brown at that level casts a dark shadow over Cannonier. Apart from that, on what basis was he hired?
Burgess is a nice lady, but a waste of our money!
Incidently,how much are we paying for this nonsense?
Well , One is Canadian and the other spent most of their life in Canada . Two jobs down , three thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight to go . Another example of the OBA looking after everyone but BORN BERMUDIANS first .
well being you object to these two – pray tell who you feel should be/can do their jobs. Interesting choices I bet
Is this full transparency? Nope. What are they getting paid??
Someone needs to make Cannonier answer the questions and give all the details.
Since the Premier is a public servant. What are the benefits to the public in having a press secretary and a Chief of Staff for the Premier? Are they really necessary?
Mr.Cannonier,you have a monumental task to perform.
The previous govt left Bermuda in such dire straights,you will need all the help you can muster up.Good luck!
oh mercy…where is the BIG MOUTH from Warwick..PAT whats her opinion on these appointments?!
That is the kind of Press Secretary Bermuda needs . One that is easy on the eyes .
: )
And this is the kind of sexist objectification that Bermuda needs less off.
Judge her (and all women) by her work, not by her physique.
Seriously! The deck of cards are full of haters. More than likely the Premier was advised to have someone in this position.
Will bodyguards be next? In the short period that this CHANGE party has come into power, they have rubbed many the wrong way including supporters.
5 years Mr. Cannonier….you’ve got 5 years. If you can get the big money moving here then you could have all the perks you desire…..5 YEARS Sir
Let’s cross our fingers! I feel at least we now have people running our affairs who express a vision that they can revive Bermuda’s economy. With the PLP it became painfully apparent that they didn’t have the political will or competence to do what was desperately needed.
The puppet Premier has less then that. The OBA will be around for a while, but he will either step down or be told take a seat on the bench like a good boy. He’s not the sharpest tool, and we all know he is just a tool.
Maybe you don’t realize but for a new Premier has to be voted in by the entire OBA membership, not just the Cabinet or in the case of the PLP the delegates. It will not happen. Premier Cannonier is going to be around for the next few years at least. He is a part of the reason for the OBA win and justly deserves to be where he is.
C’mon, he will be out in September!
Anyone who thinks that the positions are not needed has no idea the work load that is placed on the job of being Premier. If we truly want the OBA to be successful in what they do, we should also give the Premier, the man with the ultimate responsibility, the proper staffing to do his job well. I do think that salaries should be made public and expect them to be in the region of $150,000. Sounds a lot to the average person, but in the business world that is what top shelf PR people are paid and more. As Premier Cannonier said on the floor last night, the PLP shouldn’t start with any complaints about consultants. The few consultants that the have been hired pale in comparison to what the PLP had as consultants. As he said don’t even go there.
No top draw professional in the private sector leaves quarterly performance, targets and the real thrust of organizational leadership and market competition to go and slog around in a Government Job.
Come on people! Clearly Mr Jackson and Mrs Burgess were either unemployed or barely earning $70,000 before 17 December 2012. Nobody leaves an uncapped bonus and real work for a $150-170k a year these two are clearly duds
OBA don’t piss us off, my vote was to get change, I want to be impressed with talent like glen smith, Leah scott, crock well, pat Pamplona and other solid leaders like dunkley and gibbons and Muniz who deserve more than the pittance they are currently paid, us Bermudians have a short fuse for rubbish so please make these two, the last two hangers on that you recruit please.
Well you are wrong about Charmaine and obviously have no clue of her career history. I do know and she has the skills and ability for the position and just maybe she wants to assist the Premier to be the best he can be.
Voter. I know Mrs. Burgess personally Your entire statement regarding her is absolutely wrong. Absolutely. If your asking which part, the answer is, the whole thing. Know what your saying before you say it. otherwise you look like and sound like a fool. Keep your own integrity intact and know your facts or zip it.
Voter. By the way. Glen Smith and others that you named as talented people asked Mrs. Burgess’s help prior to the election to help get them in the election. Her talents were recognized by them and they realized that her talents would be much better used in their camp then somewhere else. Proven talent is best used in their hands then in the opponents hands. This was a business decision. A Smart one at that. Give your OBA people some credit they are going for the best talent available and she is the best at what she does.
Freeman, you f#c…… Idiot ! You just admitted that her job is a political payoff! Some of you OBA defenders are dumb as sh!t! Smh!
For goodness sake. It hasn’t taken long to start attacking our new government has it. Predicably the PLP imploded with a lack of vision and ideas and the recent resignation of Mr Lister from the PLP is further evidence. It ended up as any long term political party in power does with a group of ‘have been and sacked’ or ‘never have been yet’ or never have and never will’.
As for the newly announced appointments. I have no knowledge of the lady but I’m sure she is more than qualified. Mr. Jackson however I do know. He is articulate, intelligent and indeed does to my personal knowledge have a wealth of experience and a great heart to help in iradicating our gang problem with all of it’s social and racial undertones. Something it has to be said the previous administration oversaw.
Finally. How can we possibly expect in a 24/7 media world where our Premier is head of a small yet extremly important country (that’s ours by the way), that yes, punches above its weight sometimes, be expected to know everything all the time whenever called upon. Whatever the salaries of the two appointees are I’m certain they will be recouped many fold by allowing the Premier to have good advive in a timely manner in order to do the job he was elected to do, not be a secretary.
Now, PLP, go and crawl into your hole and regroup. Then you might at least be able to provide a half-heared opposition.
Congratulations Mrs. Burgess. We shall miss your enchanting voice on VSB.
Maybe, just maybe, there is a need for a chief of staff/bodyguard-type/ personal assistant to accompany the Premier during his daily tasks. However, I cannot fathom why Mrs. Burgess is needed. The Bda Government has a fully staffed and functioning media relations/communications dept. This is not the USA where the President needs a press secretary because he is continuously rolling out media statements. Mrs Burgess had not one, but two jobs! Why not advertise the post and give an unemployed Bermudian a fair shot at it? I see another Dr. Brown brewing, just give him a little more time to get comfortable. Personally very disappointed and disgusted with what I am seeing thus far. These politicians are all alike, no wonder so many people didn’t know who to vote for…
You should REALLY get your facts straight before you spout off at the mouth with your misinformation….causing others that are as equally uninformed to form opinions towards Mrs. Burgess and or Mr. Cannonier. Mrs. Burgess did , if FACT, not have a full time job at all!! She was released from her full time position quite some time ago. Yes, she did have a part time job working for one of our local media companies…no big secret as she could be seen on the tv from time to time.
As to you assertion about giving an unemployed Bermudian a fair shot…Mrs. Burgess has just as much right to seek gainful employment as ANY other Bermudian looking for work.
You are disappointed and disgusted with what you are seeing because you are seeing what YOU WANT to see…not what is actually going on. It’s comments like yours that cause further confusion and animosity…then again…maybe that is exactly what you WANT to do…
@It’S About Time! The press statement read “Prior to taking the post as Press Secretary, Mrs. Burgess was employed at Cable & Wireless Bermuda Ltd., as a Senior Vice President, Marketing for over a decade.” So, what it should have read is that Mrs. Burgess had a great job, but was “released” from her position (whatever that means).
Translation: Somebody did her a favor and handed her this job courtesy of the Friends and Family Plan.
Well done Charmaine. I know her personally and know that she’s worked hard to make it this far. She is well respected and very personable. I know she has the skills. This Government has a lot to get accomplished. Besides, the PLP chose whoever they wanted, when they wanted, no questions asked. We’ve seen how professional Mrs. Burgess has been on the news. Give her a break!
Hey Curious,
Why do we need a press secretary> DUH?!! First ask Alex Scott, then Brown who went through at least five of them, then ask Cox, all while having the same civil service in place. The answer: the Premier can appoint his own Press Secretary.
We voted for CHANGE….DUH!!!!
Thank God for all that you will do through these appointments and I pray that God our father will guide you with all wisdom and prudence. That your decisions will be guided by the will of God and lead his people back into the arms of Safety, Prosperity, Purity and Wisdom. That we once again will be the shining jewel that we once were and not the complaining whining bunch that we have become. That your decisions will cause us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves create peace and love between us. Go, be brave, and very courageous. Congratulations
This is my question in regards to these appoinments:
Based on this statement, “Premier Cannonier has directed Mr. Jackson to take a leadership and logistical role in shaping the Government’s future” – why do I need the Premier?
The Premnier’s job is what is stated above, not his chief of staff.
That’s where my problem lies with these appointments – not the people, but the rhetoric with which this PREMIER/GOVT is moving forward.
Question (?)