UPDATED: Sidney Collie elected FNM chairman

Sidney Collie, the new FNM chairman.

As of Friday, April 15, 2016

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Sidney Collie elected FNM Chairman

Sidney Collie elected FNM Chairman at the party's headquarters. Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune staff

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

SIDNEY Collie defeated Rodney Moncur by 62 votes in the FNM chairmanship contest last night and declared the “real victory” will come in May 2017.

Surrounded by a group of jubilant supporters after his 62-vote victory, Mr Collie said that the FNM was pressing forward into its convention scheduled for November and then on to the next general election.

The former Blue Hills MP said he was committed to doing whatever it took to ensure that the FNM secures the 2017 election, contending that the county is in turmoil and suffering gravely from the continuous mishaps of the Christie administration.

Mr Collie proclaimed that the road to “rescuing the country” was finally underway.

“In seven months, the FNM is going into convention. Between now and then, all the organs of the party, all the associations of the party, all the islands in the country, Grand Bahama and all the constituencies in New Providence are going to be mobilised so that we can put on the best national convention together,” he said.

“Once that convention is over, we are going to hit the ground running with our campaign co-ordinating team, with our voters drive and with our canvassing. We are not going to stop and we will not relent until we take back this government from the PLP.”

The election of Mr Collie was hailed as a “step forward” for the FNM by party leader Dr Hubert Minnis. The Killarney MP said of Mr Collie: “He is a man of great honour and integrity. He is a leader who has always put his county, family and honour at the forefront. I’m thrilled to head into an exciting and important time with him on the team.”

Dr Minnis, continuing a theme he has used often in the last few months, called for unity within the ranks of the FNM. In addition to commending Mr Collie on his win, Dr Minnis extended support to Mr Moncur. He added that despite his defeat, Mr Moncur had pledged to work along with the party’s leadership team to better its message and platform heading into 2017.

Raising the arms of both men to groundswell of support, Dr Minnis stated: “And Rodney has promised to no longer cuss me on his talk show.”

It was anticipated that 202 delegates would take part in last night’s vote. However, prior to the vote it was announced that only 183 delegates would cast ballots. Of those, only 116 cast ballots – roughly 63 per cent of possible delegates. Mr Collie won by 89 votes to 27.

In the buildup to yesterday’s vote, Mr Moncur called on members of the FNM to get “fired up”, insisting that the “soft, timid” approach by Minnis led party wouldn’t result in victory at the 2017 election.

Speaking to reporters after his defeat, Mr Moncur renewed that call. Refusing to speak against the FNM’s leadership team, he said his candidacy for chairmanship indicated that the supports were in search of “something different”.

“The struggle continues,” he claimed. “There is far more to this matter of leading the party and so, at this stage I pledge to give Sidney Collie the kind of critical support that he needs.

“We need more participation at the constituency level. We have a situation where if the leader doesn’t like you then, you know. (I’m) 59, I am to old to be liking man and I say it respectfully. We need a process that is more open.”

He said the FNM had allowed itself it become “constipated” with “poor decision making” and as a result, the party has lost it way.

Mr Moncur said that while he wasn’t bitter towards those who didn’t vote for him, “only time would be able to tell if the FNM made the correct choice”.

He called for a more open process to the partisan elections. He claimed that voters that matter, non-delegates, would have “spoken in the loudest voice possible” that the FNM needed to do things differently.

Supporters that gathered at the party’s Mackey Street headquarters held a range of opinions. Many that spoke with The Tribune endorsed the messages pushed by Mr Moncur in recent weeks. Of the group, many called on the party to adopt his “radical approach” to fighting the Christie administration.

Mr Collie has been a member of the FNM for the past 39 years, serving in the capacities of Senator, Deputy Leader, Cabinet Minister, Ambassador and MP. Michael Pintard resigned as FNM chairman last month and Brensil Rolle was named interim chairman shortly after.

Greentea 8 years ago

duh! this does not deserve a headline. Ray Charles could have seen this coming.

Publius 8 years ago

Agreed. "Breaking News". Ha!

Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years ago

The FNM is nothing but history now.....I will not be voting in the next general election unless an independent candidate of good reputation and standing in the community is running in my constituency. I suspect such individuals who run as independents stand a good chance of being elected no matter which constituency they may choose to run in. Most Bahamian voters are now simply too fed up with all the corruption and nonsense in both the PLP and FNM parties. These two political parties are dysfunctional beyond redemption or repair and, if allowed by Bahamian voters, will cause untold and irreparable harm to our country and the way of life for all Bahamians for many generations to come.

Publius 8 years ago

Can't disagree with you there.

SP 8 years ago

................ PLP and FNM damage to date is all but irreparable already! ............

Given the state of our country and decimated condition of our people after 43 years of PLP and FNM leadership, in the name of Jehovah God I can not think of any sound reason why any halfway intelligible thinking individual would entertain the thought of voting for either party at this juncture!

Absolute and complete annihilation of Bahamians and the Bahamas as we know it, is a foregone surety if we are stupid enough to return them to power.

shaboy 8 years ago

selfish

Wideawake 8 years ago

Surely there must be 40 honest and dedicated Bahamian Patriots who would sacrifice 5 years of their lives by running for the HOA in a bid to remove the stranglehold the corruption riddled PLP/FNM/DNA Political Bandwagon have on our Bahamian economy and our future!! Please step up whoever you are .....you have my vote and my financial contribution!!

Baha10 8 years ago

So much for the FNM .... maybe the last person leaving Headquarters on Mackey Street would be so kind as to turn the lights off!

TheMadHatter 8 years ago

I agree 100%. I just thought Mr. Collie was on there just so they could say it was an election, not an appointment. Never thought they would be foolish enough to actually elect him.

Mr. Collie is a GOOD man. I have met him and like him personally. I think he is good at what he does, and I am sure he is an asset to the Party and in many other capacities in his day to day life. HOWEVER, the Party needed someone to be vocal, go up against Roberts, and be tenacious daily in getting the message across.

Obviously the leaders of the party felt they could not control someone as dedicated to the people as Mr. Moncur - and considered how shameful it would be if they had to fire him before convention - and decided not to take a chance.

As a side note, this decision being made for the entire nation by only 116 people - goes to show how undemocratic the party is in the first place. I wonder if I could call Crooked Island and find ONE single FNM person there whose vote was included in this "election"? Rum Cay? South Eleuthera? Harbour Island? Staniel Cay Exuma? Probably no in each case.

Just a few Minnis loyalists huddling together to keep everything on the down-low and protect him.

Well, the vote counts they get in October when PLP calls early election (before FNM convention) will be on the down-low too. Real low.

TheMadHatter

John 8 years ago

Rodney Moncur may not have won the chairmanship and he may not have been ratafied as a candidate for the general election but he has singlehandedly spurred more interest and garnished more support, especially amongst the grassroots than the FNM has done as a party probably since Hubert In graham left. He also got 30% of the vote. He definitely caught the attention of Bradley Roberts and the PLP. He can work in the trenches and draw the black belt vote. Can Minnis and his faction of the FNM (Minnis Dem) come down of their high horses and work with this foot soldier?

Emac 8 years ago

SMT

Economist 8 years ago

Another OLD MAN with OLD IDEAS. DNA here we come!

TheMadHatter 8 years ago

Many will go that way - yes. Perhaps Mr. McCartney should offer Moncur a Senator seat off the record, for him not to run independent - or if he does not already have a DNA candidate in Moncur's constituency, then give him a certain time period to register as an independent candidate and promise not to run anyone for that seat.

Sickened 8 years ago

The FNM is quite the embarrassment!

Dear Lord, PLEASE give me someone to vote for. If not, I may have to put my name forward, and if people thought Rollins was belligerent in the house...

proudloudandfnm 8 years ago

Minnis has to go man....

Reality_Check 8 years ago

The fact that only Sidney Collie and Rodney Moncur were in the running for the chairmanship of the FNM party, and that the party's central council members would even consider accepting either one of these two losers for that position, speaks volumes about the shambles that pig headed Hubiggity left the party in when the voters forced him to go "cut bait". Like Poodling and Vomit, Hubiggity was so fearful of political competition within his own party and the likelihood of his many weaknesses and shenanigans being exposed that he simply refused to identify and nurture a competent successor to himself; one who would serve the interests of all of the Bahamian people well, not just party supporters. The true test of any political leader is their willingness and ability to plan for their succession by someone who possesses all of the core competencies to win elections, run a government well and serve the best interests of the people. On this front Poodling failed, Christie is clearly failing, and Hubbigity failed miserably. Yes, the FNM party is indeed now history and the last person leaving the party's headquarters after the next general election will need to turn the lights off for good. Such is the legacy of Hubbigity and such will be the legacy of Christie with respect to the PLP party if he does not soon identify and nurture a competent successor to himself - someone not presently in his cabinet of corrupt morons and looney tunes.

Publius 8 years ago

Political parties in free societies are not supposed to be run like dynasties. There is not supposed to be one handpicked successor that the leader decides should be the only person to lead after him or her. A mature, functioning party in an emerging democracy should be able to generate numerous men and women who are competent enough to take up the mantle. Choosing a single successor is exactly the problem that other Parliamentary democracies around the world are having - the leader picks family, friend, etc to succeed him and the Party marches to that tune while the nation suffers.

Publius 8 years ago

“Once that convention is over, we are going to hit the ground running

Can somebody say moron? You don't know when the election will be called, it does not have to be called as far out as May but can be called at any time. Even if it were going to be called in May, you only plan to hit the ground running in January of 2017 (since December is not a heavy campaign month and your convention wont be until November 30). These people are sick. How else can you describe a main Opposition Party functioning this way in light of the kind of government we have? FNMs are not primarily concerned with winning elections, their primary concern is with getting the little positions they want within their party regardless of where and how the party stands nationally. Sick.

realfreethinker 8 years ago

To be fair to Sidney he said " when the convention is over" not when election is called.

Publius 8 years ago

Okay, and that differs from what I quoted and commented on, how? I am responding to his saying they will hit the ground running when the convention is over. My clear point is that it is far too late to be just hitting the ground running with an election campaign when their November 30 convention is over, whether elections are held in May or not. If a convention is needed for a clear campaign path, then it ought to be held far earlier than November.

Economist 8 years ago

They are too old to run, let alone think.

Publius 8 years ago

Someone asked where are the young people. Those who know that party know that it is tuned to destroy its best and brightest. The others simply get in where they fit in as quickly as possible and hope that enough kissing up and kissing down can get them somewhere in time. Sad state of affairs and I dont imagine it being any different in the PLP.

TalRussell 8 years ago

Comrades laugh all you wants now that the votes have been counted for red party chairman.
Now, the last laugh goes to Rodney, when you match his having garnered a greater percentage of delegates votes than did Loretta capture - when she contested for the red party's leadership against Minnis.
The red party better prepare for dealing with two Chairman's- The official chairman Sidney "and the unofficial not going to disappear off the scene" Rodney.
This might be too much for many reds focus on, but how could you not enjoy a man's like Rodney, when he's not the least shy when it comes painting a picture for all imagine about how he likes sleeps in only his birthday suit.
I does love you Comrade Rodney, stick it to then reds - all dressed, or all naked.

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