Glenn Fubler’s October 13 column calls for “all hands on deck” while fundamentally misreading what happened at the September 29 town hall. His respectful disagreement with my assessment deserves an equally respectful but clear response.

Mr Fubler suggests that Michael Weeks inviting the Governor, Andrew Murdoch, demonstrates “out-of-the-box insight”. I submit that this interpretation misses the point entirely.

What actually happened

At no point during that town hall did the Minister of National Security deny or refute the substantive grievances raised by a cross-section of the community. Not when I pointed out that the Governor's presence itself signals lost governmental control. Not when Lamone Woods highlighted how proven programmes such as Ashay get defunded while crisis responses find money. Not when multiple speakers documented decades of unmet promises.

The minister’s October 1 statement said the Government “hears you” and promised to “move urgently”. That’s acknowledgement, not refutal. When authorities cannot dispute the facts presented, silence becomes its own answer.

The constitutional reality

Mr Fubler correctly notes that, as a British Overseas Territory, the Governor's role includes acting as “principal of national security”. What he does not address is what this constitutional fact means in practical terms.

The Governor’s authority over internal security exists precisely for moments when elected government cannot manage the crisis. Historical precedent is clear:

• Peter Ramsbotham deployed the regiment during the 1977 riots

• Richard Gozney took direct action during the 2010-11 spike in gun violence

• Andrew Murdoch now co-leads town halls on gang violence

Each instance represents the same dynamic: when civilian government loses capacity to maintain order, reserve powers activate. Calling this "out-of-the-box insight" is like calling a fire alarm innovative when the building is burning.

The pattern of disconnect

Mr Fubler has worked with me on several community projects, so he knows I value collaboration. But collaboration requires honesty about what is actually occurring.

Consider the timeline he does not address:

• 2009: Minister Louis Farrakhan’s visit demonstrates what authentic community engagement achieves. The Emperial Group’s voter registration work from 1996 to 1998 shows we could reach the unreachable — registering 15 voters for every one registered by the Progressive Labour Party in hardcore constituencies

• 2010: We propose Sounds of Sanctuary, a comprehensive model addressing the exact 11 gangs and 200 individuals whom Commissioner of Police Darrin Simons now identifies as the problem

• 2015: We successfully transform Court Street on New Year's Eve using community-led security

• 2025: After 46 murders since 2020, we are still at town halls asking for “all hands on deck” while proven community intermediaries remain systematically underused

Mr Fubler mentions my comments about the 15-minute meeting between the former premier Ewart Brown and one of the sons of the Nation of Islam's former leader, Elijah Muhammad. That brevity spoke volumes — as does Mr Weeks’s carefully worded non-denial of community grievances at the town hall.

The question of learning

Mr Fubler writes that “like all of us, [Mr Dean] is always learning” and calls for “a healthy sense of humility”. I accept that characterisation completely. What I’ve learnt from decades in these streets is that humility requires acknowledging reality, not softening it.

The town hall crowd of 600 demonstrated agency, as Mr Fubler noted. But agency without accountability from authorities produces frustration, not transformation. Those 600 people did not need another meeting to express grievances — they needed authorities to explain why proven solutions remain not implemented.

What “all hands on deck” actually means

Mr Fubler invokes “One Love” and calls for collective wisdom. Beautiful sentiment. Here’s what it looks like in practice:

Immediate: Deploy the community intermediaries who have demonstrated capacity to engage the 200 individuals driving violence. We exist. We have track records. Use us.

Strategic: Implement the frameworks we have proposed. Sounds of Sanctuary was not theoretical; it was operational, with a budget and deliverables.

Honest: Stop treating community critique as something to be managed with “out-of-the-box” framing. The Governor’s presence was not innovative leadership — it was a constitutional necessity triggered by governmental incapacity.

The uncomfortable truth

Mr Fubler equates our local crisis with what has happened in Gaza, noting how “warmongers run roughshod over defenceless folk”. The parallel is more apt than perhaps intended. In both contexts, those with lived experience and proven solutions are ignored while authorities deploy conventional responses that perpetuate the problem.

What is the difference between competitive and collaborative selves that Mr Fubler references? Collaboration means listening to community members with decades of successful engagement when they tell you what is needed. Competition means defending governmental prerogatives while violence continues.

Moving forward

I genuinely appreciate Mr Fubler’s work through Imagine Bermuda, and his call for collective engagement. But let's be clear about what collaboration requires:

• Acknowledging that proven community pathways exist

• Explaining why these pathways remain underused

• Implementing solutions, not just convening meetings

• Accepting that critique isn’t divisive; it’s diagnostic

The Minister of National Security did not deny our assertions at the town hall because he couldn’t. The programmes we have proposed were not implemented despite their proven effectiveness. The Governor now co-leads security responses because civilian authority has lost capacity.

These aren’t interpretations; they’re facts. Mr Fubler reframing them as “out-of-the-box insight” is either generous to the point of enabling dysfunction or fundamentally disconnected from the lived reality we have documented for decades.

I am absolutely available for the follow-up town hall that Mr Fubler expects to happen, and will bring the same message: proven solutions exist, track records are documented, and community capacity is ready.

What’s missing isn’t “all hands” — it is political will to acknowledge what those hands have already built.

• Eugene Dean was a candidate for the Emperial Group in Sandys South (Constituency 33) in the 2025 General Election