The Tribune

BY SANCHESKA DORSETT

Tribune Staff Reporter

sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

OFFICIAL Opposition Leader Loretta Butler-Turner revealed yesterday that she had an informal “conversation” with someone in the Free National Movement (FNM) but the talks fell apart when she was offered a seat other than Long Island.

In an interview on “The Real Deal” with host Ortland Bodie, Mrs Butler-Turner said she is still a member of the “FNM at heart” and she is only running as an independent in the next general election because she is “not able to run under” the FNM’s banner.

She said the symbol for her independent run is a heart, her hand sign is a “thumbs up” and her colours are blue and white. The Long Island MP said she believes she will win her seat again by a comfortable majority.

“I am still an FNM until such time that I nominate and I will nominate,” she told the show’s host. “I am a lioness and you do not leave your den. You do not leave your base unprotected. You do not allow the old dinosaurs to play the old dinosaur game of trying to push you out. So I am going to stay there to protect my territory and so that is why I will have to run as an independent. I no longer have the ability to run as a FNM,” Mrs Butler-Turner said.

“...I am pleased to say my symbol is the heart. It is going to be the heart because it shows my love for people, the vulnerable, the disabled, the downtrodden because that is the background I come from. I have to protect these persons that cannot defend themselves.

“I am an FNM at heart, I am still card carrying member of the FNM, it is because of the fact that I can no longer run under that banner that I am running as an independent,” she added.

When asked by Mr Bodie why she didn’t “put her pride to the side” and attempt to get back into the FNM’s fold, Mrs Butler-Turner said: “To be very honest we did have that conversation and the sad thing is, though it was not a formal conversation, they did not want to give me a seat that I have, the one that I am protecting.”

The Long Island MP did not say who the conversation was with or what seat she was offered. She also said when it comes to retuning to the FNM “there is always hope.”

When contacted yesterday, FNM Chairman Sidney Collie said he did not know what Mrs Butler-Turner was referring to, telling The Tribune this was the first time he was made aware of the claims.

In January, Mrs Butler-Turner confirmed that her bid for re-election in Long Island during the upcoming general election would be as an independent candidate.

Shortly thereafter, Mr Collie said the minute Mrs Butler-Turner nominates herself as an independent candidate for Long Island she will no longer be a member of the FNM.

In an earlier interview with The Tribune, Mr Collie said according to the party’s constitution, any FNM member that runs against a nominated FNM candidate “automatically disqualifies” him or her from being a part of the party.

In December, 2016, the FNM appointed a three-person tribunal to decide the fate of Mrs Butler-Turner and the six other members of Parliament who ousted Dr Hubert Minnis as leader of the Official Opposition in the House of Assembly earlier that month.

The party accused the group of MPs of bringing the party into “disrepute, division, rancour and dishonour”.

The FNM’s council also withdrew Mrs Butler-Turner’s candidacy for Long Island and ratified Adrian Gibson, 32, an attorney and former Tribune columnist, for the seat.