Mitchell pledges support for Cupid after failed candidacy bid

Lawyer Louise Mitchell has pledged her support to Kaschaka Cupid, who defeated her in their bid to become the New Democratic Party (NDP’s) candidate for West St. George in the next general elections.

Mitchell, who is the daughter of NDP founder and former prime minister Sir James Mitchell, told the primary at Democrat House in Kingstown, on Thursday, that they have about 7,000 voters to reach “in just about seven months before the bell is rung”.

General elections are widely expected next year, ahead of the February 2026 constitutional deadline.

The nomination by the constituency council of Cupid — the assistant comptroller of inland revenue — has to be ratified by the party’s central executive.

NDP President Godwin Friday, who is also the leader of the opposition, said this will be done in the New Year.

Addressing the constituency council after the vote, Mitchell congratulated Cupid and said she will work with him to ensure that the NDP wins the seat, which the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) has held for 28 years.

She told iWitness News that her candidacy bid was “an amazing experience…

“…  Kashaka Cupid was the winner, and I’m going to give him my full support. I’m very excited about his candidacy for the New Democratic Party,” she told iWitness News immediately after the primary.

“And as I said, … I’m living in West St. George. I’m not leaving. I’m not going anywhere.”

Mitchell was born in Kingstown and spent most of her childhood in Bequia but pointed out to delegates that she had been living in West St. George for 15 years, her children grew up there and she had a mortgage there.

“… so I am tied to this constituency, I have no plans of leaving…”

She told iWitness News that she had made many new friends in the weeks leading up to the primary.

“It’s been an honour and a pleasure to go through this experience. So, I feel very humbled and grateful and very excited about the future for the party. I believe my intended candidacy brought a lot of fire and energy to the constituency.

“… the fact that both of us are good candidates, and we really energise — between him and myself — really energise the constituency. And this is the kind of energy that we need to form governments and win an election.

“So, I feel really happy tonight, and I feel really strong about the spirit of unity here tonight. We didn’t have this kind of unity when we had the elections, but you see, that’s what elections are about. You gotta compete, but at the end of the day, whoever wins, the loser has to support the winner because we’re all part of the same party.

“And the kind of unity I saw tonight and that I know I’m going to bring to the table now, that is the healing balm. We’re going to make it together.”

The vote was taken after Cupid and Mitchell addressed the delegates about why they each thought they would be the better candidate.

Mitchell told the delegates that while Cupid is strong in the area that he is from, that is the case with the incumbent Curtis King, who is also from those same areas.

King, a retired educator, will be seeking a second five-year term in office.

“What I was saying in my speech is that the areas where NDP has performed poorly in the past have been Dorsetshire Hill, Belmont, Villa, Indian Bay and Arnos Vale,” Mitchell said.

“And I believe — because I know I have strength all over the constituency — but in particular in those areas, I’m the stronger candidate. So, I felt that I would have been the candidate to bring the swing vote over,” Mitchell told iWitness News.

“But one of his strengths, of course, is that he’s very strong in the area that he grew up. … So, we have to now capitalise on that.”

She said that King is strong in the areas in which he grew up, which are the same areas as Cupid.

“However, the advantage that Shaka has, of course, is that he’s young. He brings new energy, new vision, and the incumbent has been there before they voted him in and he has failed them.

“It’s not like the first time around they voted for Curtis King. This is a time where they voted for Curtis King, and he has failed. So, it will be easier this time around.”

Mitchell’s father founded the NDP in 1975 when she was 5 years old. In her speech to delegates, she said that NDP is in her DNA and that she has worked for the party in many more ways than she could explain in that speech.

“In 2001, I drafted the first-ever Youth Manifesto for the NDP. In 2010, I was the lawyer assigned to Central Kingstown to oversee the election there, working with inside and outside agents.

“Last election, in 2020, I rolled up my sleeves and worked to bring Shevern John within touching distance of victory in North Windward. I am now ready to stand on the platform next to her, as a fellow candidate, and bring home West St. George.”

iWitness News asked Mitchell why she had waited until this time to come forward as a candidate.

“Because now is the time that I can. Because my children are at the age where they’re off to university, and when they were younger, I simply could not have because I’m a hands-on mom, and I had the luxury of being a hands-on mom, and that was so incredibly important to me. So, when they were younger, I had to give them my all, and now that they’re off, my time allows me to give more.”

She, however, noted that she has been serving the Vincentian community even as she has dedicated her time to raising her children.

“… you know of my work throughout the length and breadth of this country. But I’m at the stage of my life now where I could really give it my all. So, now is when it’s possible for me. So because I can, it was crazy for me not to because, like the party, service has been in my DNA. And now, because I can do it, it seemed like the logical thing to do was to put myself forward.”

Sir James legacy ‘assured’

Asked if it was important to her to preserve her father’s legacy in terms of the NDP, especially now that he is deceased, Mitchell said:

“I think every person on the planet wants to preserve the legacy of their parents. I mean, it is just human nature, and I think my father’s legacy will be preserved, whether or not I step into the political ring.”

She noted that the interview was taking place in an auditorium named after Sir James.

“His legacy is assured. Certainly, my activism could perhaps help to build on that legacy. But I believe the legacy of my father is assured.”

She said that one of the wonderful experiences she had in her candidacy bid was meeting people who told her that the land they own was because of the NDP’s administration land reform policy.

“… it really brought home to me that bringing land to the landless is my father’s greatest legacy — the land reform he did. He always said, ‘How can you love St Vincent if you don’t own a piece of it?’”

Mitchell said that if she did not offer herself as a candidate she might not have met some of these people.

“The wonderful thing about politics is that it’s a gateway into other people’s lives… So I was able to get a window into the lives of people I would not have seen otherwise. And so it’s been a really good experience, and I believe his legacy is definitely assured,” she told iWitness News.