Marc Bean, one of the rising stars of the PLP, is exactly the kind of "fresh blood" that the party needs to forge a new future, according to chairman David Burt.
Mr. Bean, 33, who was schooled in England and travelled extensively before returning to Bermuda, agrees with Mr. Burt that his generation will take the party in a new direction. He told the Bermuda Sun: "We are of the age group where we have to be forward thinking. But that doesn't mean we have to forget the history of what brought us into politics. We are the next generation, but we have to build on the last generation. My message to my generation: 'start thinking bigger; take this country to the next level.'"
Mr. Bean names Stanley James, David Chapman and Mark Daniels as other 30-somethings in the PLP who could take the party forward. Mr. Bean, who is competing to win the vacant Southampton West Central seat in this month's by-election, thinks that one thing the new generation will bring is a more inclusive PLP that will attract more white voters.
He said, at present, too many voters have nowhere to turn because the UBP is "disintegrating" and the PLP is "perceived as a race-based party." He said: "The PLP has, in its actions, shown that it is open to all. However, that perception remains that it is not welcoming to Bermudians of European descent. So we have to do more to change that perception. Right now, a lot of European Bermudians feel stuck between a rock and a hard place because they would traditionally vote UBP, but the UBP's model is bankrupt, and they don't feel comfortable voting PLP. But those people need to be represented, and to be heard, and I aim to prove to them I will represent them all."
Mr. Bean, junior minister of tourism and transport, said he returned from travels in Africa and Europe knowing that his purpose in life was "to help take Bermuda forward." Asked if that task will be easier when some of the older generation move aside, he said: "I don't look forward to when the personalities move on. I have too much respect and admiration for the personalities. But I do look forward to some of the mindsets moving on."
Walter Roban, who is himself relatively young despite being a veteran PLP figure, said the party had evolved a long way since he joined 20 years ago. He agrees that the next generation will be hugely influential in shaping the next stage of evolution.
He said of the 30-somethings in the party: "What they bring with them is the experience of having been in the Government party. That's different to my experience: my first 10 years in the party we were in opposition. In those first 10 years [in power] there was a sense of getting our feet wet; we had no instruction manual. Now we can take it that a stage further.
"Those younger men and women will have learned a lot being around the party during its time in power. We expect a lot from them."
Posted: Saturday, November 29, 2008
Comment by:
chris famous
good day ,
there really seems to be a lack of self confidence when one has to post under assumed identity.i will take the freudian guess and say this person is an upcoming plp entity.my dear sir you need not lecture me about paying labour service .i was there in the trenches with the plp pre nov 98.many of the audio adverts for that campaign were penned by my brother and myself and recorded at a studio in sunnyside park southampon.if you get a chance pls ask corey butterfield for verification.whislt you are at it ask yourself why he is not a sitting mp.
secondly you make a statement ref preparing your finances in order to sacrifice.whilst i am not a sitting magistrate or ceo of hsbc,that statement smacks of contradiction.it is either you wish to sacrifice for your country or you wish to get paid along the way.it cannot be both sir.
as for no one recognising me..it is fairly evident by the posting of my full name and family lineage most readers including your self will regocnize me.you see sir i was brought up under the value system that if you firmly believe in what you are saying then dont hide behind words or imaginary names.additionally ,unlike your self i have no political ambitions at this point in my life ,hence the need for smoke and mirrors is null and void.
i look forward to your next reply in which you post under your given name.
Posted: Thursday, November 27, 2008
Comment by:
Dear Chris
Chris,
YOu sound despondent. You are lectureing people about their need to seek sacricfcial service instead of money...you are doubtful about morals and values in the new PLP...Let me give you some peace...we are grounded...in service...we are just prepareing our finances so that we can make the sacrifices...YOu need to commit to labour service and not lip service and know this..nobody will recognize you but that is not why you serve...just serve...and relax...there are many more out there than you...I am one...
Posted: Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Comment by:
chris famous
phillip,
your theory is absolutely spot on.however the reality is this.the ubp ,whilst presently is festooned with black faces,fundamentally a party founded by and for the white ruling class.now i wont dismiss that there have been noticable changes in the ubp marketing of itself.the fact still remains that we have a fractured country.in my formative years the fracture was definitively along racial lines.whilst for my children, it is now racial and social economic lines.i will be the first to say the plp is not the be all to end all towards betterment of bermuda on a whole.i as a plp supporter have a number of grave concerns for this party.chief amongst them the self appointed piety of several MPs and our dear premier.
however i also have a deeply embedded memory of the countless hours ,days ,months ,years i have seen my family pour into keeping the party alive in the darkest hours .i can proudly say lois brown evans is my fathers sister .i can go on and on with emotional points ,however the fact remains that unless persons with moral fortitude take a stance within the plp it will denigrate to a pack of power/money hungry hyenas .
in ref to the ubp, do you realistically expect me to believe they are not controlled by the same power base as they have always been?
Posted: Sunday, November 23, 2008
Comment by:
A young black bermudian
There are a lot of young people who care about Bermuda. Black and White. Are they concerned enough to risk all.
Posted: Friday, November 21, 2008
Comment by:
Phillip Wells
chris - "i am now and for ever shall be a plp supporter". With respect, sentiments like this are holding Bermuda back. I hear UBP supporters saying the same thing, and that drives me crazy too. While you may not feel that you could vote for today's alternatives to the PLP, parties change and I don't see how you can rule out the possibility of voting for them in the future. The best spur to any governing party (whether UBP or PLP) to raise its game is the threat of losing power. For as long as they feel they can take the vote of the majority of the electorate for granted, you are unlikely to be able to persuade them to change in the ways you would like.
Posted: Friday, November 21, 2008
Comment by:
chris famous
natural progression..however i would like to remind these young persons that their primary focus should be on fixing the coutry .not lining thier pockets and or seeking more power.i am now and for ever shall be a plp supporter.my family have been a cornerstone of this great party in the days when the party budget was determined by how well next week's bake sale goes.so to see the fact that as a black man i have to take my hard earned money and send my children to private school because the great government school in which my generation,both black and white,were raised is akin to a bloated corpse with an expensive funeral.so yes i am in favour of seeing new blood take the riegns of the party in due course of time.however if they are self serving imbiciles like far too many of the present MPs i am not sure how long the PLP will last.they have to bear in mind there is now a whole generation of soon to be 18Yr old that A are growing up and going to school with young white children ,hence they are not as marginalised or radicalised in thier polical mindset as thier parents generation. The second group of soon to be 18 voters are products of a failed education system ,which unfornunately is transforming in a a robust prison system..hence 3-400 votes locked away..
again i wish them well..just remember you work for the people.the people do not work to pay you
