New UPP candidates confident of election win

Two newly selected candidates who are expected to contest the next general elections on the United Progressive Party (UPP) ticket, said they have the right qualities to help their party secure victory in 2019.
Kyron Simon won the St John’s Rural South primary held at Golden Grove on Monday night while Gregory “Driftwood” Athill was not challenged in his bid to represent the Constituency of St Paul, which is currently held by MP EP Chet Greene.
Athill told OBSERVER media yesterday that he was a people’s person who has heard the cries of the voting class and he and the UPP are ready to govern.
“I bring a love and a passion for people. My strategy will not be about pulling down any individual so we won’t be engaging in a dirty campaign. Our campaign will be about the bread and butter issues which are affecting the people in our communities. There are a lot of people coming out of school that are looking jobs and there are those who have been out of school still looking jobs,” Athill said.
He added that the UPP will seek to encourage entrepreneurship, relying less on outside investors, who usually receive heavy concessions.
Claiming that he has had overwhelming support from the people in the constituency, Athill is confident he will win at the polls.
Meanwhile, Simon said his constituents should trust his level of political experience which sets him apart from his competition.
“I bring years of experience and institutional knowledge to the table. I’ve campaigned for three electoral cycles. I have a good working knowledge of what is required. I have the capacity to build the team and I know the challenges we had – we have lessons learnt experience. You would see a better organised campaigning team from Rural South,” he said
Noting that Eustace “Teco” Lake of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) is the Member of Parliament for that constituency, Simon hinted that he would have a formidable campaign plan for the next general elections.
“As the candidate going forward my task is to take the message of the United Progressive Party and to establish a presence in my constituency to grow the base and to get the members sitting on the fence on the side of the UPP realising the challenges but I am prepared to do whatever it takes within reason,” he said.
Simon believes he is the change that the people of St John’s Rural South are looking for.