Video: PLP C14 Candidate Alexa Lightbourne

[Updated] The Progressive Labour Party is holding a press conference this morning [Jan 24] to announce another candidate for the general election. We will have additional coverage later on and in the meantime the live video is below.

Update: The PLP announced that Alexa Lightbourne will be their candidate in Constituency 14 Devonshire North West.

Since the one seat system started in 2003, the PLP have won Constituency 14 Devonshire North West in 4 General Elections and the OBA have won it once. The seat is currently held by the PLP’s Wayne Caines. The OBA recently announced that David Rogers​​​ will be their candidate for C14, and independent candidate Noelle Young will also be contesting the seat.

Update 12.06pm: A statement from party leader and Premier David Burt follows below:

Good afternoon, PLP family, friends, supporters, members of the media and the residents of Constituency 14, Devonshire North West. This election is about the kind of Bermuda we want to build – a Bermuda where fairness and opportunity are not just ideals but realities for every Bermudian. Over the last seven years, the PLP Government has worked tirelessly to begin building a fairer Bermuda.

We’ve invested record amounts in affordable housing, reduced taxes for 86% of workers and every business, introduced Bermuda’s first- ever minimum wage, increased pensions for our seniors by the rate of inflation, and expanded childcare assistance.

The PLP promised to do these things, and we have delivered on those promises. As we move toward the next general election, we are as committed as ever to continuing our work of building a fairer Bermuda for all. To do that, we need representatives in the House of Assembly and in each constituency that will uphold our values of fairness, service and community.

“Since 2017, Constituency 14, Devonshire North West has had just that in Wayne Caines. Wayne has been a steadfast representative, serving not only as MP but also as our Minister of National Security and in other capacities over the years. His contributions to our party and his service to the people of Bermuda are deeply appreciated. While Wayne is stepping away from the HoA for the time being, I know his commitment to the PLP and the community remains strong, and we wish him well as he continues his work in the private sector. Thank you Wayne.”

A statement from Alexa Lightbourne follows below:

I want to begin by expressing my gratitude to the party leader, the Hon. E. David Burt, and Deputy Premier, the Hon. Walter Roban, for their confidence in my candidacy. I also wish to thank the branch of Constituency 14, the party, its executive, and its members for creating a platform that allows me to stand here today and announce my candidacy for Devonshire North West.

I would also like to thank and acknowledge MP Wayne Caines, who has served Constituency 14 with selfless dedication over the past eight years. To our former Leader Paula Cox, I extend my sincerest thanks. In 2012, she believed in my talents and supported my return home to support the campaign. Today, as I announce my candidacy, I wish to pay homage to her leadership, sacrifice, and love for Bermuda.

So, who am I? And why am I here now? Well, I stand before you today as a Dock Hill native, a proud Bermudian, a mother, and, above all, a servant leader. My journey has been fueled by a lifelong commitment to service – service to my community, my country, and to people. While my contributions may not have always been traced, they are driven by an ethos that places the needs of my community above my own. This ethos of service has shaped my journey and remains central to who I am. I am deeply committed to spirituality, equality, justice, and opportunity for all Bermudians. Today, I am here because I can no longer sit on the sidelines hoping for progressive change to simply materialize. We are in an environment where moral consciousness has been sacrificed for individualism and masked agendas.

I am here because I refuse to allow the sacrifices of those who fought for our place at the table—women and Black Bermudians alike—to be forgotten or rendered in vain. I am here because I can no longer stand by while individualism threatens to overshadow our moral fabric and better judgment as we strive toward the collective good of our island.

Growing up on North Shore, Devonshire, I was shaped by the village that raised me. Summers were spent jumping off “Sandy’s Dock/Devonshire Dock,” and my daily commute to The Berkeley Institute included the No. 9 Prospect bus. I was taught piano by Olivette Morris and was once a proud member of the North Village Band alongside my grandfather, “Pommy” Lightbourne.

To know me is to know my work. I was instrumental in the PLP’s 2017 and 2020 election victories, and I played a pivotal role in enshrining the Women’s Caucus into our party’s constitution, among numerous other roles—always in the shadows but driven by the belief that service to something bigger than me was my mandate.

Before returning home to Bermuda, I built a career as a strategic consultant, supporting governments in the US and the Caribbean. I’ve served in the private and public sectors and on many community executive bodies. I am a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., an organization founded by 22 women who made sacrifices to secure voting rights for women that they, as Black Women, could not fully enjoy until 52 years later. This is a true example of shared sacrifice.

In Bermuda, we are facing challenging times, and too many of our people are feeling frustrated. No government is perfect, but what is unshakable is our moral foundation and commitment to do better. I am proud that the PLP has implemented policies that have improved the lives of Bermudians, such as:

• Increasing senior pensions
• Introducing the minimum wage
• Expanding the childcare tax credit
• Building 70 affordable homes

Working in government, I have witnessed lives improve through community grants for youth programs, the creation of a makerspace for our creatives, and sports groups given the opportunity to compete on the world stage.

This upcoming election is about a choice. Beyond the PLP’s track record for improving the lives of Bermudians, this election is a choice of moral alignment. What drives me to step out of the shadows is a commitment to advance the ideals that our ancestors fought for. History reminds us that we made a choice to emancipate ourselves from the ideals and agendas of the very individuals who have now attempted to reinvent themselves to the voters.

We are experiencing a resurgence of ethical ideas and agendas that do not serve us. Change is uncomfortable, and it’s easy to become discouraged and lose faith. But I encourage us to draw strength from the memory of 1998 that saw the dawn of change. In 1998, I remember my mother waking me in the night and dragging me to Hamilton to witness the PLP’s historic victory. That euphoria came from knowing that our leaders understood and would fight for us, showing what is possible when we have an unwavering commitment to purpose.

I stand before you as a Bermudian, an advocate, and a servant who seeks to work for the collective good rather than the uncertainty of going it alone. I stand on the shoulders of trailblazing women of the PLP such as Ann Pindor, Dame Lois Browne-Evans, Dame Jennifer Smith, and Paula Cox, who too answered the call to serve and invest in a better Bermuda. Let us resist the urge to cannibalize our ideals or succumb to fear. Instead, let’s refocus on this journey to secure the future we all deserve.

To my sister-friend who challenged me to find my voice, my village of colleagues and friends who have carried me and affirmed me as I contemplated this step, thank you. To my high school social studies teacher who saw greatness in me and challenged my ideas of a utopian world, thank you for your unwavering support. To my sorority sisters, my father who flew to be here today with his wife, my 98-year-old grandmother, uncle, fiancé, and three-year-old daughter—from the bottom of my heart, I say thank you.

On February 18, the choice is ours. We can choose to walk toward collective progress or gamble on rose-colored uncertainty. I am committed to serve the people of Devonshire North West and to serve on the PLP team fighting for our dreams of a fairer, more equitable Bermuda. To the residents of Devonshire North West—from Cedar Park, Devonshire Rec to Evening Light Pentecostal Church, to Montpelier Road to Berry Hill—I look forward to connecting with you and getting to further understand your needs.

Please feel free to contact me directly at 441-732-8757 or visit my website at alexaservesc14.com.

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