KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Former senator for the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), Gerard “Rasum” Shallow is dead.
Well-placed sources tell I-Witness News that Shallow, a teacher and calypsonian, was found dead in his yard in Mount Pleasant around midnight Sunday.
Sources say that Shallow was working on his vehicle and a friend later found him lying on his back. The district medical officer pronounced him dead.
Shallow is said to have had high blood pressure and sources say that police do not suspect foul play in his death.
In the calypso fraternity, Shallow is renowned for his melodic voice and his inspirational “Perseverance” among other renditions.
In 1998, Shallow contested the Marriaqua seat on an NDP ticket and lost to the Unity Labour Party’s (ULP) Girlyn Miguel, who has been representing the constituency since then.
While he was appointed a senator for the NDP after the 2001 election, Shallow endorsed the ULP ahead of the December 2010 election.
Shallow returned to the classroom in 2006 after parting ranks with the NDP. He was a teacher at the St. Clair Dacon Secondary School at the time of his death.