MP for Central Kingstown, Major St. Clair Leacock has thanked former MP for the district under the Unity Labour Party, businessman, Ormiston “Ken” Boyea for campaigning with him and have asked them to contrast that with the pleading of a gambler.
Leacock made the point at a meeting in Hollywood, Central Kingstown this week as he asked voters to ponder on the ULP treatment of persons they voted for on the party’s ticket.
The New Democratic Party (NDP) vice-president said that in doing so, constituents would see how important a decision lies before them in the Dec. 9 general election.
Leacock, who was elected MP for Central Kingstown in 2010, said that the first time he ran in the district against the ULP’s Conrad Sayers, Sayers secured a second term by 10 votes.
“In other words, his votes were going down.”
He pointed out that while Sayers spent two terms in office he was never selected to act as minister when one of his colleagues were overseas.
“He was never given the opportunity, on one single occasion, when any minister, was absent to act.
“Ralph Gonsalves acted for those ministers who were outside of St. Vincent, even when Sayers was there. You can have no bigger insult than that,” Leacock said.
In the 2010 election, Leacock defeated the ULP’s Elvis Charles to become MP for Central Kingstown, having erased the ULP’s lead and adding 382 votes.
“Ralph was not satisfied. He put Elvis Charles into the Parliament as a senator, which is a very privileged position,” said Leacock who was also a senator before he was elected.
“Before the five years were finished, he removed Elvis Charles from the parliament,” Leacock said.
The ULP removed Charles and its two other senators in mid 2013.
“You hear what I am trying to say to you? He had somebody in the Parliament you know from Central Kingstown and he took him out of the parliament,” Leacock told party supporters.
“He’s now asking you to put somebody in Parliament to represent you when he had somebody there [and] that he found him not good enough.
“Have you seen Elvis, who love politics so much, come back here? Have you seen him at funerals? At weddings? Going to the prison? Going to church? Walking through the village? And they love you so much! But he could not make five years.”
Leacock said that ULP head, Prime Minster Ralph Gonsalves has a famous statement that citizens must be allowed to soar with their wings unclipped.
“And in order to do that, he has sent his children to the best universities in the world to get the best jobs in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. But when yours truly, the Major, easily, by any standard, one of this country’s most qualified individuals, very well educated, he looks you in the eyes and tell you don’t vote or Major, vote for somebody called Beresford Phillips.
“Beresford look like he could fly? Beresford look like ah eagle,” Leacock said of the ULP’s candidate for Central Kingstown.
Leacock thanked Boyea, “one of this country’s biggest investors ever and successful businessman for coming with me to Central Kingstown and walking with me through this constituency and saying to the people that is somebody who he can support.
“I want to thank him and I want to contrast his walking with me through this constituency with another person who has gambled all of his life and now wants to gamble St. Vincent and is coming back here to introduce people to you,” Leacock said, but did not identify the person.
“That person, I lost my job because I campaigned for them, but the fullness of time will deal with them,” Leacock said.