I can lead the country in a new direction

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7: Gas station chief Craig Cannonier said he can power the OBA’s drive to bring out the best talent in Bermuda and get the country running in top gear.

Senator Cannonier, who runs a chain of Esso gas stations, added: “The OBA really needs to make a statement about what it is — we have young, dynamic and smart men and women who have come together with experience and amalgamated the two as the best way forward for Bermuda.”

Sen. Cannonier, formerly of the BDA, is up against ex-UBP Senator and MP Bob Richards, who is shadow Finance Minister for the leadership of the party, which will be decided on Saturday night. We interviewed Mr Richards last week.

Sen. Cannonier said: “We all have our different gifts we bring to the table. We have a shadow Finance Minister who is extremely efficient and does a fantastic job and right now we need someone like that who can bring all the experts together and work with them. My gift is being able to tap into everybody’s gifts and bring about change — I have managers underneath me who are experts in different areas. It’s about bringing all that experience together and getting them to work as a team.

“I have to do accounting — but I’m not the accountancy guru.

“I do that in business and I believe I can do that for Bermuda. I’m a businessman and what I bring to the table is an understanding of the economy.

“Intertwined with that business expertise is understanding people and being able to relate to people. My degree is in industrial psychology — business psychology — and that’s all about getting people motivated.”

Sen. Cannonier, 48, holds the Economy, Trade and Industry portfolio. He has a B.Sc. in industrial psychology from Towson State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

He worked in retail on returning to Bermuda, including the MarketPlace supermarket group, where he was responsible for human resources, training and purchasing. He later became the general manager of the People’s Pharmacy chain and also held a management role with Cable & Wireless before taking over three Esso stations across the island.

He was born in St David’s and went to St George’s Preparatory School and the Bermuda Institute. The married father-of-four enjoys sports, travel, boating and do-it-yourself.

Sen Cannonier said: “I went to university against all the odds — I’m a product of positive thinking and hard work and the principle that everyone stands equal in the eyes of God.

“My business employs more than 100 people and every day I hear the concerns people have. I’m about the way forward — rebuilding Bermuda on the solid foundation I believe it has. But it seems our politics haven’t changed. We have a people who have progressed, but the politics of this country haven’t.

“We need to take the good of our legacy parties and amalgamate that with a new vision for Bermuda and I believe that’s my gift and my ability.

“There are new faces in the OBA, but they bring a vast amount of experience in other areas.”

Sen Cannonier said that he believed the island was at a crossroads — and had to make the right choice to protect Bermudian families and safeguard livelihoods.

He added: “There are two roads — we can continue on the way we’ve been going. But if we continue in the divisive manner we have being going in, that will lead to frustration. People are uncomfortable already and when that happens people rise up, things get demolished and people get hurt.

“The alternative is change — there are reports and studies which have been done and we need to act on them. People are increasingly impatient because the way politics are things don’t get done.

“If we have people who are investing in the country and they’re told the Tourism Board is doing nothing, then they will get upset. The challenge for the OBA is to show a new way forward and that that has to represented in the way we do things.”

Sen Cannonier added that, contrary to some reports, he and deputy leader candidate Michael Dunkley, who is facing veteran MP Trevor Moniz for the number two job, were not running on a joint ticket. He said: “I certainly support Michael Dunkley and his intention to move forward as deputy leader of the party. It’s more to do with what I believe is the way forward.

“There is no formal ticket, but I do support him — I believe he stands on his own merit and I will stand on mine. But I am prepared to work with anyone. There are preferences, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get the job done no matter how things work out.”