Lovitta Foggo sparked controversy in the December general election by warning a United Bermuda Party victory would return blacks to "the plantation" and "shackles". Yesterday, in a candid interview with Tari Trott, the new MP for St. David's defended her comments and looked to the future.

New Progressive Labour Party MP Lovitta Foggo is no stranger to controversy. Nor is she the type of person to take a soft line on matters about which she feels passionately.

In the December 18 general election, Ms Foggo unseated incumbent United Bermuda Party MP Suzann Roberts-Holshouser to capture the constituency of St. David's, which was considered to be a marginal seat.

Ms Foggo, a teacher of 25 years, is the proud mother of two daughters, Amne and Zayna Foggo-Osseyran, aged 24 and 23 respectively, and the grandmother of two grandsons, Ari and Ayr.

To her, family and education ranks high on her list of priorities, "Both my daughters are adult women," she proudly noted.

"The elder, Amne, holds a BSc (Honours) in Forensic Science and has just completed her Master's Degree in Biomedical Science.

"And she hopes to attend medical school in the future. Zayna, my younger daughter, is in her final year in the UK studying Actuarial Science.

"Having fulfilled my primary role as their mother in raising them and educating them and never being desirous of becoming a principal, I felt I could better serve my country via my new role as a parliamentarian.

"My whole life has been one of service. Also, more selfishly, I wanted to do something that I believed would instill pride in my family, more particularly my grandsons, Ari and Ayr.

"I wanted to serve as a role model for them — that they can achieve anything if willing to work for it. I hope my success in becoming a Member of Parliament serves to motivate them with all that they do as they grow.

"I love my family and believe that you must always take care of home first, especially if you going to be of value to others. Lead by example and never forget who you are and from whence you have come — that's what I believe in."

Many will remember the massive condemnation and anger she drew from the Opposition after she warned that a UBP vote would return blacks to "the plantation" and "shackles", while speaking at a PLP rally.

Ms Foggo moved to set the record straight about her statement, which she feels was misrepresented by the media, namely, this paper.

"If people were not just looking at the words that appeared in The Royal Gazette and read my speech in its entirety, they would have had a better understanding of exactly what that comment meant," She clarified.

In the aftermath, a dismayed Opposition MP Wayne Furbert publicly condemned the statement, saying he was "shocked" that Ms Foggo could say such a thing.

"As for my alleged controversial comments, they were stated metaphorically," she retorted. "Many did not see this as controversial at all but as a well-stated analogy. My audience comprehended its meaning, applauded it and agreed with it.

"For those who chose or still choose to use it as a political football, I think as has been evidenced, it will be of little value to them. People welcome honesty.

"The general public believes that the best way of approaching and rectifying issues is through acknowledgement of what they are. Only then can appropriate measures be utilised to nullify or erase them."

Asked what was the premise of the statement, she responded: "The UBP themselves, their commentators and their supporters have publicly aired concerns that their party has too much negative historical baggage.

"In spite of the increased number of black candidates, they are still perceived as a 'white' party with 98 percent of the white community voting UBP.

"And reportedly, from some of those who attended the Donnie McClurkin UBP gospel concert (before the election) there were more than 90 percent of blacks in attendance. Where were the whites?

"With the UBP it does not matter who the candidates are because of the UBP's historical image, one can liken it to the biblical quote of pouring new wine into old wineskin. It's not going to help, we all know what happens when you do that."

Looking back at the General Election result, which showed that her constituency saw the highest change in voter turnout and the highest number of newly registered voters, Ms Foggo said she expected to win.

She added: "Short of sounding arrogant, I did intend on winning at the polls, so, I spent the entire year working toward that result.

"I introduced myself to the community while simultaneously letting them know that I wished to be their PLP representative in the next General election. I garnered from them their concerns and wishes while canvassing and registering many of them. I helped those I could, carried their concerns to my party and to the Government and had some of their concerns met in some instances.

"I canvassed relentlessly up to two days before the election and I expected a victory because I put in the work and more importantly, I did not take my constituents for granted.

"So, though I was elated that I had won, I was not surprised. Sadly I did not enjoy the victory as I might have because I was totally exhausted.

"Much of the work and organisation of my team was constructed through the efforts of Mr. Saunders, Mrs. Butler and myself. My team on election day was 54 people strong."

For right now, Ms. Foggo is serving as a backbencher — but she's not shy about her ambition to be a Cabinet Minister.

When asked which Ministries she would be interested in serving in, she said: "Education, Health and I have an interest in the environment."

"Those are the three Ministries that jump out and as well as Social and Cultural Affairs, also, given my professional background, my skills would lend themselves more readily to them as well.

"Many have called me and registered their surprise that I did not receive a Ministry or Junior Ministry immediately. They witnessed the hard work and dedication and the result was better than most had envisioned.

"Especially since having won what was considered a 'marginal' seat so convincingly — by 90 votes. Indeed my hard work has transformed this marginal seat into a PLP stronghold.

"I have responded to all by stating that this is the first lesson of a politician, to have no expectation of being rewarded for hard work.

"The satisfaction of the success of that hard work is being elected and remains in seeing that the constituents have their concerns addressed.

"I think it's important that experience remains in the Cabinet and that those coming in be allowed to take part in the House of Assembly with a view to learning how things operate.

"If indeed I had been appointed to a Junior Ministry, it would have allowed me to work more directly with the Minister and get hands on experience, but nonetheless, I'm not disappointed because my real job is to serve my constituents."

And speaking of her constituents, the novice parliamentarian has drawn up a host of ambitious plans for meeting the needs of everyone.

Her plans include: Beginning work on restoring sites such as 110 Steps and Soldier's Wharf to allowing for a "positive impact on tourism"; the development in St. David's of an Indian heritage site; a youth centre; creating an economic empowerment zone; the establishment of St. David's as a tenth Parish; an urgent care centre for the area and ensuring that cycle racing in the area continues, viewing it as a positive activity for the youth.