By www.tamrinswitch.com
I’m sure when he was a little boy coming up in the heyday of Hubert Ingraham’s representation of the then Cooper’s Town constituency on Abaco, Renardo Curry never would have thought he would grow up one day to challenge the man for his seat and be on the cusp of doing what no other contender had done in 35 plus years. Beat Hubert Ingraham.
Now before the haters start singing in chorus saying that I’m delusional, lets look at some key factors that Papa himself has been agonizing over for almost ten years. In 2002, with only six weeks to campaign and arguably not the right amount of funds to do it with, contractor and business man Fritz R. Bootle came within a hair of beating Hubert Ingraham. In fact, as the returns came in, there was widespread panic that the FNM’s leader would join his annointed successor as a seatless wonder.
There are some in North Abaco to this day who are convinced that Ingraham manipulated the final results when he seemed certain to lose. In 2007, Bootle again came close, but not as close as he had five years earlier because of the insistence of one Cay Mills on running as an independent. Mills has supported the PLP in the past but was not successful in getting a nomination and chose to run as an independent. This severely hampered Fritz’s chances of toppling Ingraham. Ingraham won by 147 votes. 215 voters sat the elections out. If everyone who could have voted had come out and voted and if Mills hadn’t taken some PLP votes, Hubert Ingraham today would be sitting on Bell Island with the Aga Khan and the King of Spain playing dominos in his retirement.
But today is a new day. The opportunity to take Ingraham out of Parliament remains quite open and very much possible and for four years, PLP strategists have been looking for “the right candidate” for the job. Bradley Roberts, the party’s chairman, was the main voice behind the strategy to beat Hubert in his own seat, convinced that taking the head off the snake would save the nation from the FNM. Roberts may be on to something as the numbers from the last elections clearly shows the PM is on shaky ground and has been for 9 years.
Imagine how many new, young voters will be registering for the first time in North Abaco where Ingraham’s attention seems trained only on his own Cooper’s Town area. One need only look at the roads and sidewalks that abruptly start and end at the entrance and exits of the constituency to see that he could give a damn about Murphy town, Dundas Town, Crown Haven and the rest of the North. In comes Renardo Curry, a 37 businessman and numbers cruncher for the government. Armed with the right pedigree of being the son and grand son of respected Abaco pillars (his grandpa has a street named after him. Ben Curry road or drive) and firmly rooted in the church community there, Curry may indeed be the man for the job.
It doesn’t hurt that the young candidate is more photogenic than Ingraham, or that he actually works for his opponent’s ministry. The PM is a man who, with a move of the pen, would have no problems creating a problem for Curry on his job. Fortunately, Mr. Curry is contracted and has business interests outside of his government job and can survive whatever lowness the PM throws at him. Thats good because he will need it. But what Curry also has working in his favor aside from youth, good looks and obvious intelligence is the benefit of shrewd political advisors on the island as well as his own knack for smart politicking.
I participated in the Listening Tour the PLP conducted to select their candidate two months ago on North Abaco and while it was tempting to assume the youngest man in a three man race for the job to take Ingraham on was the least experienced, it turns out the guy actually had game and the moxy to pull it off. For starters, he managed to get the majority of the island’s stalwart councilors to sign a petition of support for him getting the nomination. The other shrewd move was to enlist the support of not just the previous candidate for the seat, Fritz Bootle, but also Bootle’s predecessor, Mr. Felix Sawyer to advise him.
Both men have experience in chipping away at Ingraham and with them on his side, Curry has a legitimate shot at taking Papa down. But it won’t be easy. Cheating is not out of the realm of possibility where Ingraham is concerned and on the islands, cheating and intimidation is the name of the game for the FNM. Curry has allies in the island’s youth who say they too want change and may likely see in him, the change they desire.
Then there’s Mr. Mills, the once again jilted prospective candidate. The PLP did well to not select the man. I have nothing against him but from my time in Abaco, there was a queasy uneasiness about him that gave me the creeps. Self assurance can easily be mistaken for arrogance and dude had be confused. What turned me off from him immediately was the fact that the team had not yet been on the ground for 30 minutes before he started badmouthing his opponents for the nomination. One thing I can’t stand is PLPs taking down PLPs in front of other PLPs by branding them as “new, just reach, and an FNM spy.” That was his pitch. Never mind he was making the pitch to a group of us who don’t have votes on the committee but it was the nastiness of him even thinking it was okay to do that in a room of strangers.
For his part, Mills has done a lot for Abaco but the PLP had to be careful in who it chooses. The party paid the price in 2007 for its failure to properly keep a handle on the people in its ranks and most voters still remember that. Perry Christie couldn’t risk having that happen again where volatile, uncontrollable personalities are on the front line. Apparently, the selection committee felt the same and so Curry got the nod. It is very likely Mills will make another run either as an independent or DNA candidate. Most hope he doesn’t because he has a lot to offer as a part of the PLP’s regime. But self interest is always a motivating factor in Bahamian politics so time will tell what he does. If he sticks with the PLP and shows he’s the bigger man that I hope him to be, Hubert Ingraham could start saying good bye now. You can’t be PM if you don’t have no seat and Renardo Curry is on the way to making that happen.
Everyone has dreams…..so keep dreaming.
Mr. Curry I am sure that you will soon realize that the party you thought was the right fit for you is actually NOT. But nonetheless good luck
If Renardo is to win, he has a lot of ground to cover. He stands a good chance, but he needs to get to know the people. He also needs to have the right team with him to strategically carry out his plans. So far, he is travelling with those seeking crumbs from the table!
Elizabeth i dont think you are from Abaco and those people who you talk to is not from abaco cause every body knows renardo and his family cause if you dont know uncle Ben nardo grand father he was a popular business manand a pastor in north Abacofor over fifth years and further more nardo aunts was the first lady as a church in treasure cay.when papa first join politics alot of people didnt know who he was and trust me you or no can say anything bad about nardo cause he is a honest decent respectable young man
@ Truth
You “Jokers” make me laugh daily. Have you read the polling data suplied by Public Domain? It strongly suggest that the FNM is trailing the PLP. So, if you don’t mind, kindly tell by which process did you determine that the FNM will win the next general election? I am no PLP, but the MOST RELIABLE SOURCE for reporting on the LIKELY OUTCOME OF THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION (up to 3 weeks ago) STRONGLY disagrees with your view. Or, are you just a blind partisan who thinks that the majority view about who should govern them should not matter (in your evaluation of things)? If so, just wait until election day. Amen
BP come on be REAL and HONEST…HAI won that seat by 468 seats…he got 52.64% of the vote in North Abaco….Bootle only got 39.36% of the vote…and the rest went to Independents…COME ON you know the only thing that remains STUBBORN And CONSTANT is the TRUTH!
HAI will win his seat and lead the FNM in SECURING The GOVERNMENT for another TERM….the PLP will be DISSOLVED and the DNA will emerge as the new OPPOSITION Party..
Further more Murphy Town (where he is on the Local Govt. Council) is more Central Abaco, than North Abaco. I always wondered why it was a part of the N. Abaco constituency. As I said in my post that BP chose not to put up, I have lived in N. Abaco for many years and I have never heard of Mr. Curry. I am not saying anything about him (because I don’t know him)..but I am saying that he has a lot of ground to cover to get to know the people.
Speaking as a member of the North Abaco Constituency (live there) Mr. Curry is a well known member of North Abaco. He is an upstanding, God fearing, family oriented young man. He is also big in the sporting community and is well loved by everyone. Believe me he is the right man for the job!!!!
I live in North Abaco all my life and a huge supporter of sports in Abaco, never heard of Mr. Curry. I have asked about 20 people who he is and only one person indicated that they think they know who he is but still was not sure. Based on the other comments received Papa is going to slutter him come election day.
You don’t know the man on your Council and you don’t know him? You mussy don’t know Ingraham either. Perhaps you don’t even know ya name.
BP
I honestly don’t believe the money people behind the FNM want to risk Papa leading the FNM into the General Elections and will probably see him not contesting his Abaco seat?
The objection over the sale of BTC is going to intensify as the truth about how this FNM cabinet were threatened with calling an early General Election and also deceived by Papa to vote for the sale of BTC with the $210 million to be allocated to build a new hospital?
While the majority of Bahamians would be more than pleased to drive Usman Saadatto to the airport to make darn sure he exits our Bahamas, his resignation is much deeper than he is making out.
His appointed has never sat well with one senior member of this FNM cabinet who is hoping that his exit will be the start towards closing one of the most controversial doors surrounding the sale of BTC, before they face voters in the upcoming General Elections.
I understand this minister has had one on one frank discussions with several other members of this government that have in private expressed their regret that if they had known that the $210 million from the sale of BTC was not as promised by Papa to be used to build the new hospital, which has now been shelved, they would have voted against the sale of BTC?
It’s amazing if you leave Papa alone long enough how he will repeat his 2002 history of walking away from the FNM after he recklessly used his enthusiasm for arrogance to push voters away from the FNM. It’s so infectious.
This FNM cabinet’s hot dogs under Papa are just about finished cooking and all that is left is for the voters, come the General Elections, is to sick their forks in them like they did in 2002?
For those of you who do not know, we the young people of North Abaco have been looking for a leader like Renardo Curry for years. He is young, vibrant, intelligent and is in touch with us, gone are the days of having a leader that you can’t talk to. We are tired of going through his generals to get a word in. Now those days are over (LOL)! Finally our day has come, now we taking over….Bye Bye Ingraham!!!!!
Well its good to hear those things about Mr. Curry because as a resident of N. Abaco I had never heard of him before..Glad to know he comes highly recommended! But I dare say that once he has attained the uppermost rung, he will most likely be like all the rest…scorn the base degrees by which he did ascend!! we will have to go thru his generals to get to him! Only things will change are the generals!!
@ Abby, believe me when I say we do appreciate your remarks, but trust me, Renardo has a different breed of people to answer to and we will hold him to a higher standard than what we have seen in the past. I have known him for many years and still hold a high standard of respect for him after many years. I do agree that politics as usual sucks, however, a new day is dawning. So, join us in creating a new tomorrow….
Boy you right, Mr. Ingraham down here in Coopers Town paving roads that we don’t need and our School building what we been fighting for to have repaired still look like crap, he need to give us what we need and not what he want, we need empowerment, we need jobs, man my baby need to eat, but we are young, he has no plans for us, I hear he coming down here on saturday to talk with the young, “WOW” this is the first time in my life i ever heard of something like this, I guess it take a young PLP man to teach a old FNM new tricks.
Well I live in North Abaco and know Mr. Curry very well, the person that you describing is not the one that I know. Stay tone for the truth on who Renardo Curry really is. Please when speaking tell the truth as it will be revealed in short order. The heat is on.
Well, Well, if you don’t have anything good to say without telling the truth don’t lie just don’t say anything at all!!!
I know this man to give his last to see others happy, we all have a pass but for sure there is nothing that you think you can say that will tear down the good character that Mr. Curry has. I’m a close friend and KNOW Him. He is the best Man to lead North Abaco.
Get your buns and mustard ready.
While the majority of Bahamians would be more than pleased to drive
Usman Saadatto to he airport to make darn sure he exits our Bahamas, his resignation is much deeper than he is making out. His appointed has never sat well with one senior member of this FNM cabinet who is hoping that his exit will be the start towards closing one of the most controversial doors surrounding the sale of BTC before facing voters in the upcoming General Elections.
I understand this minister has had one on one frank discussions with several other members of this government that in have in private expressed their regret that if they had known that the $210 million from the sale of BTC was not as promised by Papa to be used to build the new hospital, which has now been shelved, they would have voted against the sale of BTC?
It’s amazing if you leave Papa alone long enough, how he will repeat his 2002 history of walking away from the FNM after he recklessly used his enthusiasm for arrogance to push voters away from the FNM. It’s so infectious.
This FNM cabinet’s hot dogs are just about finished cooking and all that is left is for the voters, come the General Elections, is to sick their forks in them like they did in 2002?
I honestly don’t believe money people behind the FNM want to risk Papa leading the FNM into the General Elections and will probably see him not contesting his Abaco seat?
The objection over the sale of BTC is going to intensify as the truth about how this FNM cabinet were threatened with calling an early General Election and also deceived by Papa to vote for the sale of BTC with the $210 million to be allocated to build a new hospital?
While the majority of Bahamians would be more than pleased to drive Usman Saadatto to the airport to make darn sure he exits our Bahamas, his resignation is much deeper than he is making out.
His appointed has never sat well with one senior member of this FNM cabinet who is hoping that his exit will be the start towards closing one of the most controversial doors surrounding the sale of BTC, before they face voters in the upcoming General Elections.
I understand this minister has had one on one frank discussions with several other members of this government that in have in private expressed their regret that if they had known that the $210 million from the sale of BTC was not as promised by Papa to be used to build the new hospital, which has now been shelved, they would have voted against the sale of BTC?
It’s amazing if you leave Papa alone long enough how he will repeat his 2002 history of walking away from the FNM after he recklessly used his enthusiasm for arrogance to push voters away from the FNM. It’s so infectious.
This FNM cabinet’s hot dogs under Papa are just about finished cooking and all that is left is for the voters, come the General Elections, is to sick their forks in them like they did in 2002?
Praise God the Bahamian people will not be voting for most photogenic, but proven leadership, which is what we have had with Mr. Ingraham in the past and which we now have. Petty politics and mean comments will not win the PLP the next general election, especially from the young and first time voters. Focus on the issues.
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