The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Free National Movement’s decision to ratify Rick Fox as its Garden Hills candidate has triggered sharp internal backlash from some, including a former constituency chairman accusing the party’s leadership of driving it into decline and sidelining loyal members.

Ricardo Rolle, a longtime Garden Hills resident and former association president, said the party had made a grave mistake by backing Mr Fox while denying the nomination to former MPs, including Dr Hubert Minnis and Renward Wells. Mr Rolle, who served nine years as the association’s president under the Ingraham administration, said the move had left many supporters disillusioned and disengaged.

“This is the worst the FNM has ever been run,” Mr Rolle told The Tribune as he criticised the party’s leadership and Mr Fox’s candidacy. “I can tell you one thing, they ain't coming in my yard.”

His remarks come amid mixed reactions within the party following the ratification of Fox, a former NBA star who recently said this year’s general election will mark the first time he has ever voted in The Bahamas. The Tribune previously reported that the decision surprised some FNM supporters, as longtime aspirant D’Angelo Ferguson had been widely viewed as the frontrunner after months of campaigning.

Mr Rolle said nominating someone he described as a stranger to the party, rather than established figures such as Dr Minnis, was deeply troubling.

“You know nothing about Rick Fox,” he said. “You only know about Rick Fox what in the NBA, that's it, and now you gon’ come talk about you gon’ run and if you ask Rick Fox, right now, where Garden Hills starts and where it end, he can’t tell you.”

He added that many of his neighbours, also FNM supporters, have said they do not plan to vote, citing frustration with the party’s leadership and a lack of consultation on key decisions.

“I’ve been with the FNM since 1985,” he said. “I never voted nothing else. I never supported nothing else, right and all of the leaders under the FNM that I was a part of, to compare them to the leader that the FNM has now, that is garbage.”

Kendal Culmer, an FNM meritorious council member, also voiced dissatisfaction, saying the party’s leader should have explained who Mr Fox is and why he was chosen. Mr Culmer said he knew little about Mr Fox beyond his public profile.

“There should’ve been a conversation about Rick Fox,” he said. “Okay, yeah, he’s Bahamian. Yeah, he’s spent some time in Canada. Yeah, he’s worth millions of dollars, but is that what you’re looking for?”

“The person who should really speak to this issue is Michael Pintard, and he don’t make sense sometimes himself.”

Mr Culmer said the FNM of today is not the party it once was and said he is uncertain whether he would even vote in the upcoming election.

Still, not all party members oppose Mr Fox’s candidacy. Former area MP Brensil Rolle backed him, describing Mr Fox as a qualified Bahamian who deserves a chance. Mr Rolle said he believes Mr Fox could win the seat, arguing that voters in Garden Hills will judge candidates by performance rather than rhetoric.