Sister Islands a close race

Moses Kirkconnell on Nomination Day	Lyndon Martin on the campaign trail

Monday,  May 9, 2005

The campaign for the District of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman is going to be a tight finish, according to Lyndon Martin, one of the two UDP incumbents.

He believes that Julianna O’Connor Connolly will be returned as First Elected Member, but that it will be a close race between himself and first time candidate Moses Kirkconnell for the second elected position.

Mr Kirkconnell thought it was a four-way race. The campaign is going well and he is looking forward to Election Day, he said. Mr Kirkconnell has held four meetings and there has been a large crowd at each, he said. He thinks the people seem to understand the message, which is the need for jobs for school leavers and young professionals and to improve the economy in general.

Maxine McCoy Moore thought that the race would be between herself, Mr Kirkconnell and Ms O’Connor Connolly. Little Cayman is neglected – “everyone can see that!” - and would remain so unless she is elected, she said.

“Whoever gets in visits Little Cayman once every four years,” she said. The main issues on the Island are the need for a water plant, completion of the roads, the foundation of a school and lights on the airstrip for emergencies, she said.

There are 910 registered voters in the district, which had 86% voter turnout in 2000. One hundred and sixty postal ballots have been sent out in 2005, which, Mr Martin pointed out, is a sizable percentage of the total eligible voters.

He said this is his third campaign – he lost in 1996 and was elected in 2004 – and of the three, this has been the hardest and the most intense. 
“But it has been pleasurable to work along with a strong and determined group of supporters,” he added. He intends to continue house to house visits and small community gatherings right up to the elections, he said.

A series of unflattering text messages about Mr Martin have been sent to a number of people, mostly the district’s voters. They didn’t bother him at first, he said, but when they started being sent to his 9-year-old daughter, he began looking into legal action. The fifteen messages are traceable, he said.

Asked about a number of water tanks that have been given to constituents in the last few weeks, Mr Martin said some were paid for by social services and some paid for by himself. He claimed he has been giving water tanks to people since 1996, including the years when he was not elected. These gifts have never been associated with votes and they do not come with conditions to vote for him, he said. 

The people who receive water tanks are chosen by his election committee, he admitted, but added that he donated personal money and raised the funds to buy the tanks for people who don’t have potable water. “I see it as a noble gesture,” he said.

Mr Kirkconnell said he made a public statement in his first meeting that he would say nothing but positive statements about the other candidates and he hoped that the public would do the same.

“This is not a time to divide these Islands but to bring them together to face the challenges we have,” he said.

Kelly Thompson said that everything was going according to plan and he was very confident about being elected. He would continue to run a clean campaign and hoped to win on the issues, he said.

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