The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

SOME Progressive Liberal Party supporters in Golden Isles say MP Vaughn Miller is so vulnerable in the constituency that he would lose the seat on the PLP’s ticket in the general election, a challenge for party leaders who are leaning towards giving him the nomination.

The four incumbents who ran on the PLP’s ticket in 2017 have been guaranteed a nomination, but The Tribune understands some insiders hope this doesn’t apply to Mr Miller, who resigned from the FNM in December 2019 and joined the PLP last September.

Mr Miller conceded he hasn’t been as visible a representative as he would have liked, noting yesterday that it is challenging representing a constituency that was the largest in the country by vote total in 2017.

“In terms of going throughout all the constituency, that has been a challenge,” he said. “It’s a very big constituency. Have I been as visible as I wanted to be? No. And of course, the process of moving from FNM to PLP was challenging because being in the governing party puts you in a more favourable position to assist people. Once you’re no longer in that group, everything changes and that’s one of the consequences of moving.”

Znovia Wright, a PLP supporter and area resident, said Mr Miller could “definitely lose this constituency”.

“He needs to be more active,” she said. “The last time he got in because of the situation at hand, meaning people were fed up (with the Christie administration), but I hope he doesn’t think that because he moved over it’s going to be an easy win.”

Ms Wright and PLP supporters like Brenda Rolle, 66, said they prefer former Golden Isles MP Michael Halkitis.

Mr Halkitis, however, has been chosen as the PLP’s St Barnabas representative.

Ms Rolle said although she is certain to vote for the PLP in the next election, convincing others in her house to support Mr Miller will be difficult.

“We are not really happy with Vaughn, we prefer Halkitis, but I will give him my support,” she said. “I doubt he could win. I spoke to (former Prime Minister Perry) Christie about this a couple weeks ago, (saying) that we are not happy with Vaughn Miller running in Golden Isles.

“I have ten votes in my house. If Halkitis was here, I wouldn’t have to do too much persuading, I wouldn’t have to campaign. Now I feel like the PLP is going to lose this seat in Golden Isles.”

Brian Brown, a Coral Harbour resident and the chairman of the FNM’s Golden Isles Constituency Association since 2010, is the FNM’s standard bearer in the constituency.

A veteran of multiple FNM campaigns, he is said to have solid ties to the community. In fact, he recommended Mr Miller for the seat in 2017 after Kenyatta Gibson withdrew his candidacy for Golden Isles.

FNM officials say Mr Miller––who won 56 percent of the vote that year––met a fully functional campaign apparatus when he came to the area, including an active headquarters and a team comprising polling division captains.

“All he needed was a coat to get inside the House of Assembly,” one FNM supporter said yesterday.

Former Cabinet minister George Smith, who sits on the PLP’s Candidates Committee, denied hearing negative chatter surrounding Mr Miller, saying that barring something unforeseen, the party will choose him as its candidate in Golden Isles.

“One other person has indicated interest but that has not seemed to gain much traction,” Mr Smith said. “There have been no serious challenges to him by any other aspirant.”

Mr Miller said he anticipated challenges when he switched to the PLP, knowing that he would get the cold shoulder from FNMs and some PLPs.

“There are persons obviously who would oppose me because I came from the FNM, so there is that element,” he said. “There are some persons who were very supportive of Halkitis and we are dealing with that and then there are some disgruntled persons, but I feel they will join us. The transition has been a difficult process, but we’ve been on the ground since November and people have been very supportive.”

Henry Culmer, the PLP’s Golden Isles constituency branch chairman, supported his view, but acknowledged that Mr Miller has not been a notably visible or active representative.

“I have watched the interaction with him and the constituents of Golden Isles and I’m sure that at the end of the day, I usually see more positives than negatives,” Mr Culmer said. “Individuals who might say he has an uphill battle and won’t be received well, you should ask how many of them do the door-to-door exercises with him. To no fault of Mr Miller’s own, they really wanted Mr Halkitis to stay here. They feel that to accept Mr Miller is to reject Mr Halkitis and that is not the case.

“I still think he will be successful. I think he has enough time to reconnect with some of these constituents. I think he has to go and resell himself and not expect to get in on the wave again.”