Smith's North: A tale of two voters
By Elizabeth Roberts
Smith's North residents Dina Tucker and Shirley Richardson will both vote for the first time this election — but for very different reasons.
Mother-of-two Ms Tucker backs the UBP's Michael Dunkley while Mrs. Richardson, a proud great-grandmother, is firm in her allegiance to Patrice Minors of the PLP. Mrs. Richardson, 60, moved to Bermuda from the US 19 years ago, and is married into a Bermudian family. She became eligible to vote in 2004.
"I'm very excited about it. I came here when the United Bermuda Party was in Government.
"I've had chance to look at both parties and the programmes and positions of the candidates and tried to take an objective approach. I made my decision that I liked what the Progressive Labour Party stood for," she said.
As someone who is black and from North Carolina, she explained: "When I first came to Bermuda people were so afraid to talk, to speak out. They would get in their little groups and talk and make their complaints.
"Coming from where I come from, the South, you pick up your picket sign and you tackle it. It was a real culture shock to me. I said 'you are in the majority, you should speak out.' But people would say that people's mortgages had been taken if they spoke out, and they lost their jobs. There was this real apprehension.
"I can really see a difference since (the PLP came to power) in 1998.
"Things really changed in this country, they have changed for the better. Coming from the South I'm not coming to a country to not be able to say what I want to say or feel fearful. People have really exercised their right since this Government has been in, they've caught a lot of criticism but no-one threatened that you will lose your job."
A nursing assistant at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, Mrs. Richardson has three grown children, five grandchildren and one great grandchild.
She listed steps the PLP has taken to bring equality to the workplace and boost medical coverage for seniors as key things that have impressed her. She also commended Mrs. Minors on a personal level.
"She's a Christian woman, that's what attracted me to her as a person. She has a regular job like other people but when she finishes she comes to Constituency 10 and she's out there.
"She has a two-year-old child and a full-time job and canvassing as well, and being in politics. That's not an easy thing. She has a lot of courage and she's humble," she said.
Out on the campaign trail with Mrs. Minors on a regular basis, she said one of the big issues is road repairs, which Mrs. Minors is working closely with the Ministry of Works and Engineering to address.
Asked if she has any concerns that the UBP has parachuted in big-hitter Michael Dunkley to stand against Mrs. Minors, Mrs. Richardson said simply: "We're gonna win."
Meanwhile Ms Tucker, 42, said that while she was never interested in politics before, she was galvanised to register to vote for the first time by a belief that more drugs education is needed.
Describing herself as an entrepreneur, she explained that she designed a programme for adults and kids called Reality Check which was "endorsed by the Minister of Education and the Police, even the drug addicts themselves... this was a programme straight off the streets of Bermuda about our community."
However, she claims that her request for funding was turned down by Mrs. Minors when she was Minister for Health.
"That's why I'm saying it's time for a change. That's my personal opinion. I'm not saying that because it's my programme. They (the PLP) are not serious about educating children on drugs and violence," she said.
Giving her backing to Mr. Dunkley, she explained that in her view he has been more visible than Mrs. Minors when it comes to canvassing in her neighbourhood.
"Even before it was election time he has been around to ask about concerns I have — and by the way I'm black, half and half," she said, adding that the 2003 UBP candidate Allan Marshall also conducted a high-profile campaign.
Mrs. Minors won that time around by 123 votes. This time, said Ms Tucker: "I hope it's Michael. I really think it's time for a change."
Claiming to have received anonymous anti-UBP material through her letterbox, she said: "I'm not into politics but I started to get into politics and I see how dirty it is."
She concluded: "I hope whoever wins this election doesn't forget where they came from."
