The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FORMER NBA champion Rick Fox has become the first Free National Movement figure to declare he will run for the party’s leadership.

The opposition senator made the surprise announcement on the floor of the Senate yesterday, drawing startled reactions from other senators, some of whom asked: “What?”

Mr Fox, who lost his bid to become an MP in May’s general election, did not say which post he will contest at the party’s convention next year. The Tribune understands party officials are eyeing early February.

Last night it was revealed the Free National Movement’s Central Council has voted to hold the party’s next Convention no later than April 30, 2027.

“The details of this much-anticipated expression of our party’s democracy will be finalized and announced to the general public on another occasion,” said party chairman Dr Duane Sands.

Fox said his decision was not about climbing the political ladder but about raising the bar for the party and providing “the rocket fuel to get there”.

“My ambition is not simply to occupy a position,” Mr Fox said during debate on the Older Persons Rights, Protection, Care and Support Bill, 2026. “It is to help build a party worthy of the confidence of the Bahamian people, a party that attracts new generations, develops new leaders and embraces new ideas and demonstrates that our greatest achievements are not behind us but ahead of us.”

Mr Fox, who declared a massive $469m net worth in filing financial disclosures, said he made the decision after talking with his mother, meeting the king and reflecting on last weekend’s FNM conclave.

“So today, Madam President, albeit not relevant to the other side, but relevant to older persons in our country, I wish to make my intentions clear,” he said. “I intend to seek leadership position within the Free National Movement to ensure the success of this bill in the long haul.”

Party insiders said they were caught off guard. They said the announcement highlighted the uncertainty over who will lead the party and how eager members are to take up the mantle.

Mr Fox’s bid is likely to revive questions that have followed him since he entered frontline politics less than a year ago. The May general election was the first time he had ever voted in a Bahamian election. Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis later mocked FNM leader Michael Pintard for appointing a “first time voter” to the Senate ahead of deputy leader Shanendon Cartwright. Former Cabinet minister Leslie Miller called the decision “mean-spirited” and “spiteful”.

Mr Fox pushed back in his maiden Senate speech in June.

“I never understand why being called a first-time voter was supposed to be an insult,” he said. “If anything, we should be celebrating first-time voters, encouraging them, recruiting them, welcoming them.”

He also faced resistance within his own party. When the FNM ratified him as its Garden Hills candidate in February, longtime party supporter and former Garden Hills association president Ricardo Rolle said: “You know nothing about Rick Fox.” He said Mr Fox “can’t tell you” where the constituency begins and ends.

Days later, Mr Davis claimed Mr Fox had sought a Progressive Liberal Party nomination for Killarney or Long Island “up to two or three days” before joining the FNM. Mr Fox dismissed the claim as “revisionist political theatre” and said he had applied to only one party.

Mr Fox lost Garden Hills to the PLP’s Mario Bowleg and was appointed to the Senate shortly after the election. Born in Canada to a Bahamian father, he moved to The Bahamas as a baby and grew up in Stapledon Gardens. He played 13 seasons in the NBA, winning championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, before returning home in 2021.

His declaration comes as the FNM confronts hard questions about its direction, leadership and structure after winning just eight of 41 seats in May.

At the closed-door conclave, Jamaican political consultants told supporters the party “had serious challenges” to overcome if it wants to form the next government. They reportedly blamed a campaign message that failed to resonate with voters, low visibility among candidates and the lack of a clear plan.

A poll by the consultants found Mr Pintard was the least popular of the country’s three main party leaders, ranking below Mr Davis and Coalition of Independents leader Lincoln Bain. Voters also saw him as the “most petty”.

Those who spoke to The Tribune said the main message from the conclave was that no saviour could fix the party alone, and that changing its leader or image would not by itself change the outcome. They agreed the party needed someone who could unite its members and tackle its wider problems.

Several possible contenders have yet to declare. During a heated exchange at Lumpy’s bar on Saturday night, Long Island MP Dr Andre Rollins reportedly told Mr Pintard he was considering challenging him for the leadership and did not want there to be “bad blood”. Dr Rollins has not responded to repeated calls from The Tribune.

Mr Pintard has said he will wait for the party’s post-mortem before deciding his political future. The Tribune understands Mr Cartwright has not decided whether to run. East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson has not revealed his intentions.