Carl Culmer
Former FNM chair tells of poor communication and lack of information
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune News Editor
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
CARL Culmer lifted the lid on his tenure as the Free National Movement’s chairman yesterday and described former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis as the worst leader he has served in any capacity.
The relationship between party leader and chairman is one of the most critical in politics, especially for a governing party. Although Mr Culmer relentlessly championed and defended Dr Minnis as the FNM’s chairman from 2017 to 2021 and appeared publicly to be one of the Killarney MP’s closest allies, he told The Tribune that Dr Minnis shunned him and ignored his advice.
He said he wanted to resign, but did not do so to protect the organisation.
He is the latest top official from the Minnis era to endorse Michael Pintard ahead of tomorrow’s convention, the highlight of which will be the leadership race.
Despite the appearance of unity that characterised the relationship between Dr Minnis and Mr Culmer in public, the latter said Dr Minnis reluctantly accepted his chairmanship bid after Dr Nigel Lewis and party treasurer Dwight Sawyer recommended him for the role.
“Minnis doesn’t say no,” he said. “He just finds ways to work around you.”
Mr Culmer said he used to meet Dr Minnis every Friday at 8am until February 2018, when something changed.
“I said to the then prime minister that I’m hearing rumblings on the ground and they were not popular towards the party,” he said. “He laughed at me and went and made fun of it with a few of my colleagues.
“Those meetings ceased between the chairman and the leader of the party. Minnis found an excuse. He stopped accepting my calls. He didn’t answer any WhatsApp, nor did he answer any of my emails.
“I was tempted to resign but was encouraged not to resign because Dr Lewis, also Dwight Sawyer and Joshua Sears told me I can’t resign because it would not look good on behalf of the party. I stayed in there, took a lot of abuse from Minnis and his guys, his henchmen over the months I was there as chairman.”
Mr Culmer said his biggest problem with Dr Minnis was a lack of communication and accused him of trying to run the FNM from the Office of the Prime Minister.
“Even the press secretary, Ace Newbold, could not get information from him or his Cabinet,” he said, adding that Dr Minnis did not meet party officers unless there was an executive or council meeting.
“He had one meeting with supporters over four years and some months,” he said. “You cannot build relationships in that sort of way. There were complaints from his Cabinet ministers, MPs and party officers that they can’t reach him.”
“Everyone knows the prime minister and the chairman should be hand in glove. The things that the chairman knows, he is supposed to relay to the prime minister. The things that the prime minister wants the country or the electorate to know from a political aspect, he should speak with the chairman. That did not happen. There was no relationship.”
Mr Culmer criticised Dr Minnis for prompting the resignation of Dr Duane Sands and Peter Turnquest.
He also claimed that Dr Minnis forced Brent Symonette to resign as minister of immigration, financial services, trade and industry in 2019. He did not elaborate on this. He is the most prominent FNM member to say publicly that Dr Minnis pushed Mr Symonette to end his career in frontline politics.
“When you talk about uniting the party, this man been breaking down the party from he became leader,” he said.
Mr Culmer claimed that Dr Minnis called him three times during one episode, pushing him to break the rules of the party’s constitution so a group of ineligible people could vote in a Torchbearers election.
“I told him based on principles which I stand on and the constitution of the TYA, I cannot heed to his request,” he said.
Some of Mr Culmer’s disagreements with Dr Minnis concern policy matters where the correct answer is debatable. For instance, he faulted Dr Minnis for not making more temporary workers permanent, and he advocated for taxi drivers to “get their own taxi plates,” but claimed Dr Minnis was concerned about glutting the market.
Regarding the 2021 election, Mr Culmer said Dr Minnis was repeatedly warned not to call an early election.
“We did an independent survey, and the survey showed us losing the government and winning only eight seats,” he said.
“He didn’t listen to no one and at the end of the day I took a lot of slack because I tried to hide from the public a number of things that Minnis was doing. But he didn’t appreciate that and he let his henchmen go after me every day. I said to him, why you letting these folks go after me?He said he can’t prevent it.”
Mr Culmer said he learned about the early election “15 minutes to an half and hour” before the commissioner of police announced the prorogation of Parliament.
“I said to him then and I said to him before, we’re gonna lose,” he said. Despite such sentiments, Mr Culmer publicly defended Dr Minnis’ early election call.
“I’ve worked in many successful organisations,” he said yesterday. “I’ve been successful in leading groups all my life. From my career at BTC as a technician going up to senior vice president of operation; in my lodge I was successful as Grand Master; in my church I was successful; I was a successful unionist. But Minnis was the worst leader I’ve ever worked under in my professional career.”
Dr Minnis declined to comment yesterday.
“I don’t respond to Carl Culmer,” he said. “I don’t know what Carl Culmer say, but I don’t want get into any discussion with Carl Culmer.”
Comments
ExposedU2C 5 months, 3 weeks ago
I've always had zero respect for Carl Culmer and his admissions here only serve to prove why.
Had Carl been much more concerned about the Bahamian people and much less concerned about keeping the FNM party in power under the prime ministership of tyrant Minnis for as long as possible, tyrant Minnis might have been forced to call an election much sooner than he did, thereby ending much earlier his most wicked and evil authoritarian rule over us.
Carl Culmer did a great disservice to all Bahamians by choosing not to speak out back then on the matters he now chooses to speak about in order to curry as much political favour as possible with Pintard. It is a sad reality that the more senior lodge brothers in our political system are always much too loathe to speak out against a fellow senior lodge brother even when doing so is in the much greater interest of the Bahamian people at large.
IslandWarrior 5 months, 3 weeks ago
CARL Culmer should refrain from speaking because there was a lot of "worse" in the former Minnis-led FNM Administration. It is disingenuous to paint a picture as if Minnis was the only "worse" aspect of that failed administration.
sheeprunner12 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Carl Culmer calls himself an accomplished "leader" in many social circles ........... but how can he as FNM Chairman be so docile and reactive in his capacity, while looking for excuses not to rein in one executive member of the organization???????????
This expose clearly explains why Bahamian (political) organizations are so dysfunctional because they do not understand how LEADERSHIP functions ............ one person (regardless of the title) has NO right to hold an organization hostage in a democratic society. There are four major types of male leaders and it is hard to pinpoint where Culmer falls.
Culmer as FNM Chairman had every right to confront Minnis and settle these matters INTERNALLY. Instead, he waited 5-7 years later to come to the media with his sad story about why he could not function (effectively) as Chairman in the FNM ............... He was a weak leader.
So, if Culmer is supporting Pintard now, both have failed as senior FNM executives in the past Minnis-led FNM organization. This is really a sad revelation to read.
ThisIsOurs 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Actually Culmer spoke out long ago. People just forget. when asked what type of candidates the FNM was looking for for the leadership race (post-Minnis, pre-Pintard) Culmer provided a list of wholesome qualities, then as if a light bulb went on he added "and we dont need no petty connivin people", was very clear who he was referring to
stillwaters 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Wasn't as clear to most people. He should have been man enough to say this clearly during the pandemic.....otherwise, go sit down quietly.
TalRussell 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Comrade Carl Culmer was and remains aware of the Internal "available" Post-General Election Report that concluded that had the RedShirts' Movement, not rung the 2021 General Election bell, the loss, could have been even worse than the 32 House-seats which they failed at winning.--Yes?
birdiestrachan 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Yes indeed but all of you are just like him and this includes the other Hubert
ExposedU2C 5 months, 3 weeks ago
ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz......
pablojay 5 months, 3 weeks ago
I think the criticism leveled at Culmer is rooted is bias. I think he explained what he went through lucidly and it was obviously done to try and project an atmosphere of party unity. Having not done so would have only made matters worse for the FNM. The article did its purpose to show the type of person that Minnis became when he got more powerful. We all know of many instances when Minnis believed he needed nobody besides someone who would tell him how great he was. Just how Culmer spoke of when he knew of the early election call,a cabinet minister at the time told Minnis that he heard that a lockdown would soon be inforced,to which he responded in denial,but two hours later he was on ZNS announcing an immediate country wide lockdown.
ExposedU2C 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Tyrant Minnis long ago cooked his own goose and hopefully the good people of Killarney will put the final nail in his coffin come the next general election. Carl's revelations to the public are therefore much too late with no apparent purpose other than to endear himself to Pintard. The equivalent of a non-public confessional would have been a better place for him to get these now very "old" matters off of his chest.
TalRussell 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Are Long Island RedShirts' abbreviated nationalists' playbook, not feeling deflated to outplay the Pintard camp of 1 June. -- Yes?
sheeprunner12 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Long Island will remain FNM ............. doesn't matter who is running the party. The PLP will continue to use its political machinery to harass the MP. The island will continue to find means and ways to survive and thrive.
The PLP is serving absolutely NO purpose to the island ........ except to provide the PEPs with jobs, contracts and slackness.
Just another day in Paradise .................... SOS
TalRussell 5 months, 3 weeks ago
@Sheepunner12, Irrespective, when people from all parts of the globe, ask Google "Who" is the Member seated in the House of Assembly for Long Island - what will it say sounds be attention grabber about the honourable Member. -- Yes?
birdiestrachan 5 months, 3 weeks ago
Doc Minnis and Mr culmer one and the same did the Fnm headquarters have a break in or not was barry major Fnm Or not
whatsup 5 months, 3 weeks ago
I could not vote for Dictator minnis after the lockdowns. He was a doctor and knew we needed vitamin D during the pandemic. minnis closed Churches, Schools, small businesses, beaches, playgrounds and told us to stay inside or our neighbors should report us. He came on tv every night like he was God {with his wet, slimy lips} telling us what we could and could not do whle he was raking in the money from CDC. He knew there was no need to be extreme like he was, but he thought he was God....he still does. Him and his stupid face masks and distancing, for what? GREED AND POWER
sheeprunner12 5 months, 3 weeks ago
I am so glad (for ppl like you) that HAM will not be the excuse for the FNM in 2026 ....... But HAI & Pintard will do a good job in bringing the base out. The New Day PLP should not be hard to beat after Simon's meltdown
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