CAY HILL--The Party for Progress (PFP) closed off the first part of its campaign programme with a full house at Fleming’s Café in Cay Hill on Friday, December 20. The Cay Hill and Belair communities, as well as others, were invited to attend the party’s final town hall meeting for the season and engage with its candidates to learn more about them and their plans if elected to Parliament.
“We set out to run our campaign in a different way than we’ve all been accustomed to,” said party leader and number one candidate Melissa Gumbs. “Having grown up in the heyday of rallies held on large open fields, we quickly decided that this wasn’t the way we wanted to engage with the people of the communities.”
When asked if PFP was worried that its message did not reach enough people without the rally setting, Gumbs said party members wanted “no barriers” to their engagement sessions with the community. “From the field itself, to the stage and the overbearing noise generated by the sound system,” PFP wanted no hindrances when it came to rolling out its plan of community engagement.
“It is only an unwelcome twist of fate that these sessions are branded as campaign meetings. PFP had the districts we’ve visited on our calendar prior to even announcing our launch on September 21, including those touched by our TURF community clean-up project. We wanted smaller, more intimate and productive sessions with the people, and that has worked. It’s been amusing to see this method replicated by other parties this campaign season, but we welcome the following of the trends we’ve worked hard to set,” said Gumbs.
At its town hall meetings, PFP introduced each candidate and has taken hard-hitting questions from the crowd. “The party manifesto has been shared in great detail, with many questions already answered in the document … to allow for updates to be made throughout the campaign and, once elected, throughout the governing term,” said PFP.
The party said this is important as there should be continual communication between the community and the parties seeking to represent them. “[The – Ed.] Cay Hill town hall meeting was no different, with all candidates expressing the party’s ideas and goals they would aim to carry out once elected. The manifesto is a point of party pride, as it contains the fruits of our meetings with the community and with key contributors within the public and private sectors,” said the party in a press release on Sunday.
“We made it a point to ask the people what is important to them,” said Gumbs. “For almost 30 years, we’ve been told what is important to us. That practice continues today: we’re told what is important to us, but no one has thought to ask. Party for Progress set out to do that, we have done that, and we will continue to do that as we mention in the ‘St. Maarten @ 25’ section of the manifesto.”
From December 20 to January 4, 2020, PFP said it has opted to take a break from public campaigning, adding that the holiday season is no time to disturb families celebrating with one another.
Its programme resumes on January 4, 2020, with a return to its Path to Postulation meeting spots. This starts with Rupert Maynard Community Centre in St. Peters on January 4, followed by TJ’s Cassava Coal Pot in Sucker Garden on January 5, the Simpson Bay Community Centre on January 6, and the Dutch Quarter Community Centre on January 7.
On January 8, the day before elections, PFP has invited the public to spend time with candidates and members at party headquarters in Peterson Plaza in Cole Bay. PFP wishes persons a safe, enjoyable and happy holiday season and looks forward to “continuing its mission of community engagement in 2020.”
