By Robert A Emmanuel
Well known social media influencer, Washington Bramble, said that she should be given a chance to represent the constituency of St John’s Rural West for the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) as she believed it was time for the people to try something new.
On Monday, Bramble wrote to the ABLP General Secretary expressing a desire to contest the St John’s Rural West primary.
Speaking to Observer, Bramble said that both major political parties have represented the people of the constituency but had, in her opinion, failed to deliver.
“I have lived in the constituency my entire life and I have witnessed all the different candidates—first from 1989, Baldwin Spencer took over from Antigua Labour Party MP, Donald Christian. Then we had a Labour Party candidate, Londel Benjamin, taking over, and he was a disappointment because he allowed the government to make him a backbencher where he was not in a position to help his constituency.
“Now, we have Richard Lewis who is in opposition who has basically gone into hiding, so I have been criticising candidates from ever since, and I said why not stand up and see if the people will give me a chance?” Bramble explained.
The social media personality said that some of her priorities would be ensuring that the Grays Green Community Centre—also known as the Knuckle Block complex—would be used for its intended original purpose as a community space rather than its current usage as the St John’s Magistrate’s Court.
“I believe that it was a terrible injustice for the government to even think of robbing the people of that community centre and placing the Magistrate Court there…also there are a lot of young people in the community who are marginalised and don’t have the opportunities but want to start businesses,” Bramble continued.
She said her first programme would be to make easily obtainable loans available for youth in the area who wish to become entrepreneurs.
Bramble added that she had been getting a lot of verbal support and she was simply asking people to put their trust in her.
Other contenders for the Labour Party primary currently include Aziza Lake, Kevin Morgan, Shawn Benjamin, Russhell Ellis and Michael Joseph.
