The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

PACO Deal and Robert Grant –– an attorney and a businessman –– said they would apply to be the Progressive Liberal Party's candidates in the West Grand Bahama and Bimini by-election.

They join three other expected applicants: former Golden Gates MP Shane Gibson, Chief Passport Office Kingsley Smith and attorney Samuel Brown.

The application process in the PLP ends at midnight tonight.

Holmes Rock resident Mr Deal, 49, said he has invested a lot in West Grand Bahama.

“We have been suffering down here with a drought in our economy for many years, and it is time for us to bring some new ideas and reinvent and rebuild the community, but also Bimini,” he said, adding he frequently travels to Bimini.

Mr Deal, who turns 50 soon, considers himself among the new generation of leaders in the PLP.

He sought the nomination in 2021, but received little support from the constituency branches.

“The prime minister talked about giving young people a chance, and in another three years, I would be 53. In another eight years, I would be 58," he said. "So, I think this is a prime opportunity for me to enter or be birthed in the life of politics so that I can start to get the experience.

Mr Gibson's bid for the nomination has livened the by-election race.

Mr Deal was careful not to be critical of the former Cabinet minister whom he said he respects, but felt the nominee should be a resident of the constituency.

"What hurts is that you telling the country, you telling the party, and then you telling us, we can’t find one in West Grand Bahama and Bimini that is capable of carrying the mantle of Mr Wilchcombe," he said.

“And you telling those that walked with him, talked with him, and those that felt the pain, and those that are still feeling the pain and are qualified and able, that is what you telling the country, that is the issue that I have.”

Mr Grant is a resident of West End and the son of former PLP Senator Austin Grant.

He sought, but lost his bid to represent the PLP in the constituency two decades ago to Obie Wilchcombe, the former MP who died unexpectedly last month.

“Mr Wilchcombe said to me to be a team player, which I did," he said yesterday. "Now that he has passed, I am not interested in running in another constituency because I live in the West End constituency, and I know the issues very well.’

Mr Grant, 63, said he wants businesses in West End to have tax-free benefits similar to Freeport.