The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ADRIAN White says that he and Shanendon Cartwright both bring “baggage” to the Free National Movement’s deputy leadership race, although he does not believe the controversy involving Mr Cartwright and his tenure at the Beaches & Park Authority gives him the upper hand as the FNM’s convention nears.

“I come in to the race with probably the same amount of baggage (as Shanendon Cartwright) because if it’s going to come down to two candidates, one candidate has baggage hanging over him that the government is putting on him and I come with baggage in that I’m new to politics,” Mr White said yesterday.

“We each have issues that voters are going to have to address in their mind and determine which one of us is most suited for the role, but I definitely don’t think that I have an upper hand on the expected other deputy leadership contender.”

Both Mr Cartwright, MP for St Barnabas, and Mr White, MP for St Anne’s, will nominate for the deputy leadership role at the FNM’s headquarters today. It is not clear if anyone else will enter the race, although insiders say there is a desire among some for a candidate with more experience than the two men.

Mr Cartwright’s standing in the FNM blossomed after he won re-election in an inner-city constituency in a wave election that saw the FNM swept from office. FNM insiders say he is currently the favourite to win the deputy leadership race. Mr White, meanwhile, has won praise in the party for his performances in the House of Assembly as leader of opposition business.

Since the 2021 election, the Davis administration has condemned practices related to the Bahamas Public Beaches & Public Parks Authority, indirectly questioning Mr Cartwright’s running of the institution when he chaired the authority under the previous administration. Last year, the administration announced that all contracts at the authority would be cancelled after external investigators found numerous lapses in internal controls.

Nonetheless, Mr White said the FNM has “two great candidates” in himself and Mr Cartwright, both of whom he said will support and enhance the agenda of party leader, Michael Pintard.

“I think (Mr Cartwright) did an excellent job as member of Parliament,” Mr White said. “With all the activities he was carrying out, it looks like he was writing the textbook for all the MPs with how to carry out duties in your constituency and that paid off with him being re-elected.

“What I do know is I have not gotten to where I am by turning my back on an opportunity. I have every intention of continuing to serve our party leader and our party for the next five years and if there is a thing that I know that I am qualified to do, despite what others might view as a lack of experience to date, I’m gonna go for it because I’m never taking a step back.

“When we had the convention in November there were a number of persons who approached me and either referred to me as the next deputy leader or really spoke to me directly with a clear expression of interest that I aim for deputy leader because from what they have seen from my representation in the House of Assembly they could see the type of individual character that I was and that’s what they were attracted to.”

He added: “The deputy leadership opportunity is one that I think I’m fitted for. I didn’t put my hat in the ring for the leadership for a number of reasons, one of them being my existing experience and the significance of the leadership role and just the general expectation that those senior to me are more rightly fitted for that position.

“Over the last six years I have made a commitment to myself and a promise to say yes to opportunities that I was interested in and that I had every expectation I can handle. And that ranges from opening my own practice in 2014, opening up myself to Rotary, serving on the board of the Rotary East Club Nassau at various levels, from vocational service to fundraising chair, finishing with the Rotary president position of the biggest club in the region and getting into politics.

“I saw that our (former) leader, Hubert Minnis, stepped down from leadership positions and we had one of our other members of Parliament put themselves forward for leadership positions. I communicated with them as well as a number of other persons in the party that I thought would be interested in running for deputy leader and at this stage, there’s some expectation that Mr Cartwright is going to nominate.”

The convention is set for February 23-25. All positions from deputy leader down will be open for contest. Peter Turnquest, current FNM deputy leader, has said he will not contest the position.