Plan will merge 3 districts
Posted on Mon, 07/23/2012 - 18:51 in Politics
(CNS): In order to have even numbers in the new nine district proposal put forward by the premier the districts of East End, North Side and most of the eastern part of Bodden Town will need to be combined into one district. Following last week’s referendum result the premier announced his intention to set up a bi-partisan committee to examine the possibility of double member constituencies of around 1900 voters, where each voter gets two votes. However, the current member for North Side has pointed out that in order to do that his district would be submerged in a greater geographical district covering well over half of Grand Cayman.
Ezzard Miller said that he and Arden McLean, the member for East End, would now begin campaigning to have their districts constitutionally protected as single member constituencies in an effort to preserve them and the distinctive district representation.
If North Side and East End are combined with the greater part of Bodden Town, using the electoral boundary commission’s recommendations for the boundaries of single member constituencies, they will become part of a mammoth eastern district. Based on the goal suggested by the premier of around 1900 voters for each district, this new constituency would stretch from the junction of Shamrock Road and Carlton Road all the way to East End and North Side.
Miller said that he could not support the latest idea by the premier and pointed out that McKeeva Bush and the UDP government had spent $100,000 of the people’s money campaigning to keep the system that Bush had said was not broken.
“He said it wasn’t broken, that it worked well,” Miller said. The independent member and leading advocate for one man, one vote in SMCs said that even after the premier had fixed the ballot result to say the ‘no’ vote had won and the people didn’t want change, he now says he will make a change that can’t work.
“He cannot insult the people of the country in this way,” Miller stated. “We will be agitating to protect our district representation,” he added referring to his parliamentary colleague Arden McLean, who is the opposition member for East End.
Despite aiming for equal size constituencies when it comes to voters, the premier’s latest suggestion would still see some imbalance as Cayman Brac and Little Cayman would remain one constituency returning two members while having less than a thousand registered voters. The Sister Islands have been given special protection under the 2009 Constitution that ensure the constituency will always return two members, despite its small population. In contract to the 980 or so voters currently registered on the Brac, the new district of Bodden Town, East End & North Side would have over two thousand voters.
Based on the existing boundaries drawn up by the commission in 2010, the new proposal by the premier would see what would have been the single member districts doubled up, starting in West Bay and moving out to the eastern districts, where the merge of the three districts into one constituency would occur in order to accommodate the other seven districts, in particular in the growing areas east of George Town, such as Savannah and Newlands.
The proposal would see West Bay divided into two double-member constituencies, George Town into three, a new district in Red Bay & Prospect and another new district covering the areas of Savannah and Pedro.
Speaking to Cayman 27 on Friday evening following his announcement on Radio Cayman on Thursday evening, the premier acknowledged that it may be problematic merging the existing single member constituencies of East End and North Side.
"We have to figure out what to do with East End and North Side, who have single members, and we have to work with them so they are not disadvantaged in any way,” Bush told the TV news channel.
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East Bodden Side.
East Bodden Side.
Boddeast Side? Big Mac - Just
Boddeast Side?
Big Mac - Just leave well enough alone.
Better yet, explain how you used Government money to pay for YOUR agenda with YOUR One man One Vote Ads...
Paid for By the Office of The Premier ----- Should have been replaced with ----- Paid for By the People (whether we agreed with you or not.)
Time to step down.
Not today BoBo. You might
Not today BoBo. You might want to eliminate your opposition, but you won't do it in such a dispicable way. Not this time around BoBo.
you people are ridiculous.
you people are ridiculous. are you telling me that Cayman is so divided that the people 2 miles down the road from you are a completely different culture? you have got to be joking. Can't you see that unity in the Eastern Districts would balance the power? What? Is Ezzard afraid he won't get re-elected, if he actually has to get some real votes and not two from Uncle Jimmy's family and three from Aunty Joan's? you people are so blind. cut your nose off, to spite your face.
You are more blind if you
You are more blind if you can't or don't want to see through Bush's crap. This bush way of trying to remove all opposition and load the deck in his favor, are you really that naive to believe bush is doing this for equality after they fought so hard against it in the referendum. This is just bush political ploy, some people smae to have ingested too much of the bush koolaid and it has caused cartaracts and they only see what bush tells the to see.
I agree with the commenter.
I agree with the commenter. The population is so small in east end and north side. Why have them divided? This is just two politicians that want to retain their seats in the LA.
Yes, the only two who are
Yes, the only two who are holding McKeeva to account. That is the whole reason for this proposal - to get at them.
I'll bet you were one of those who voted against OMOV saying you wanted no change.
Anon 09:59 you don't live in
Anon 09:59 you don't live in either North Side or East End like I do therefore you dont have a say in if they should be combined or not. Each of these districts are unique in there own way and to combine them is just madness. The people in both of these districts all have special relationships with there representatives. I am sure both elected member knows each person by name and all their children, school grades, accomplishments, heartaches, struggles to the very little detail. Trying to combine them would destroy the charm of how these districts operate. So Mac please try to stay away from trying to combine these dictricts because you will meet great resistance, even greater than what you saw on the East End Seaport and we all know how that ended.
I have just been listening to
I have just been listening to Radio Cayman Talk Today which had as one guest the Premier.It is so funny but yet so sad to hear him talk about setting up a bi-partisan group to look into changing the set up of the constituencies from 18 to 9(hope I got that right)Who is he trying to kid about forming a bi-partisan group.He and other govts before his have NEVER EVER set up such a group and I dare him to make it up of truly non political people that he will listen to especially if they go against his wishes.It is not in his best interest to do this as he could very well end up with the short end of the stick.But I challenge him to form this group and STAY THE HELL OUT OF THE DECISIONS that they may well come up with even if it goes against what he wants(And we all know that he would only want that to go one way .His way.).Every one knows that the Govt set the bar so high in the referendum that it would be pretty well impossible for it to reach that level but I truly pray for the day that the people of this country will vote most of these people out of the house and get some people who will put the Country first and stop all this building up and tearing down that goes on with our present party system.The OMOV group must be commended for the way in which they conducted themselves during their CLEAN CAMPAIGN a true bunch of people who are concerned about the direction that these fair islands are taking.I again challenge the Premier and his party members to run a clean election campaign and stop the BLAME game and the low down mudslinging that occurs daily.I also call on the Opposition to do the same thing and not add fuel to the fire and get on with helping to run the country in such a way to make us all proud.(Wishful thinking on my part?)Maybe so but I sincerely hope that we can find the right combination of people to get us out of this horrific mess that BOTH the UDP and PPM have placed us all in.Stop acting like spoilt children and get on with running the country the way we are PAYING you to do.
"I don't really care about
"I don't really care about which way you vote,
'cos my gerrymander works out fine"
McKeeva has turned this to a
McKeeva has turned this to a distraction issue - this is not a serious proposal and is idiotically raised within 48 hours of his rigged referendum which still delivered a binding advisory slap-in his face
In meantime, no one is talking about his failure to deliver the countrys budget. his 3 ongoing investigations, his failure to stimulate the economy, misuse of government funds and equipment to pave private driveways in Brac, the port deal fiasco, the Cohen fiasco, his wasteful travel for nothing, the termination of a senior civil servant who triggered an investigation (not an issue with performance and paid out to end of contract anyways), spenidng public money to create job for a failed UDP candidate, curious hiring of bodyguard/PA for Deputy Premier, public funds to hire McKeevas personal lawyer, his nation building 'slush fund' disbursements to party loyalists, failure to develop a crime plan for the country, constant allegations of corruptions, dodgy deals and hook ups for certain developers...ugh! soo sick of McKeeva
I am over the hymnals, bible
I am over the hymnals, bible verses, shouting, temper tantrums, corruption, incompetence, trickery and selfishness. The way the leaders of our government conduct themselves is a pathetic joke.
I heard on the radio today
I heard on the radio today that there was a huge difference between the residents of North Side & East End and I would appreciate if contributors to this thread would enlighten me as to the differences as the differences were made to sound very significant. Of course the Boddentown differences were also discussed.
I would appreciate some serious responses as to the differences that I am not aware of.
That is like asking what is
That is like asking what is the difference between west bayers and George Towners, or West Bayers and East enders for that matter. Do you know of any differences? List them.
Two completely separate
Two completely separate communities. Differences in outlook, culture and accent. Any Caymanian is well aware of that.
Based upon the lack of an
Based upon the lack of an actual response to the querry as to the differences between North Siders and East Enders I can only conclude that the differences are in the family units that live in each district.
No one has been able to really describe the differences. So in other words combining the districts would pose no real problems.
sure, east enders have harder
sure, east enders have harder heads, more backbone than northsiders, bigger feet, drink rum like mi goldfish drink water, and if ya try to make an arrest, the entire east gang come out deh house and kill ya..... northsiders have smaller mouths, flatter heads, love to eat too much agotie rabbit, quiet all the time, and stay inside house... so big difference
You see how quickly we divide
You see how quickly we divide ourselves and highlight the differences between North Siders and East Enders when it is convenient? Imagine when we get further divided and South Sounders and George Gown central have their own single representatives.
Need to further develop the District Councils so that the local situation in each district community can be broadly represented on the national stage. Relying on one person to represenet an entire district is not the answer.
That is sooooo true. I am
That is sooooo true. I am glad you made that statement. Imagine if we were divided 18 times. What a garrison country we would foster. I must take my hat off to your insightful comment.
As I am not Caymanian could
As I am not Caymanian could you elaborate as to the outlook and custom differences?
North Side has better food.
North Side has better food.
mmmm.... henekin taste alot
mmmm.... henekin taste alot sweeter in north side... until you reach east, no taste
I think the more we bicker
I think the more we bicker about the electoral thing, is the more we are losing our children and grandchildren. I didn't see none of my friends out at the polling stations. We are so caught up with a system change, but over a thousand Caymanians are without jobs. I wish we could channel our energy on more important things that we need today and stop fighting against each other. I have one more year to study in class and my entire family has been divided. It is stressful and I don t think we will last as a country if we are not able to move forward
North Side and East End are
North Side and East End are so small in population. They should be combined.
I say combine them two
I say combine them two districts...now WHAT Ezzard and Arden going do about this one, I hope they both sit down and shut up!!
Now that what you call knocking the wind out of your sails!!
I don't think the current
I don't think the current premier should be involved in anything to do with government.
I don't think the Premier
I don't think the Premier should be involved in anything requiring maths.
Personally I don't think he
Personally I don't think he should be involved in anything that requires him to get out of bed.
Clever fallback plan from the
Clever fallback plan from the villain of the piece!
OMOV is the correct answer, existing system is highly beneficial to villains and their worthless hangers on, so find something that isnt one or the other but still carries all the bad effects of multiple votes!
This suggestion achieves just that, it lumps together three districts that would never vote for the villain, and gives them just 2 members. Similar carves up elsewhere and status quo is preserved.
Just do the right thing Bush, do what works for democracy everywhere, single members, one vote, easy!
I pity the fool who listens
I pity the fool who listens to the fool. There is a good reason that the leadership of the Cayman islands are so incompetent as to be funny to the non Caymanian.
The UK is coming to make us
The UK is coming to make us all one again. Long live the UK, soon we will be under one banner and things will run right again and there shall be law and order. Come quickly, Lord "B" come quickly before they destroy these islands. You saved TCI now save the Cayman Islands we are tired of the sand box politics, lands give away and blatent disrespect and no regards for policies and procedures.
Not sure the VAT tax burdened
Not sure the VAT tax burdened TCI is a good example of the UK Doing well running a Caribbean island. It's clear that neither party in TCI support the British and what they have done there. Be careful what you wish for.
And what happens when the
And what happens when the Shetty hospital and the "Go East" initiative happen? Population increases (we have to assume some of these will be voters or soon to be eligable to vote). Will the Mac Daddy propose more districts then?
If I did not know better I would say he works for the FCO (he certainly appears to be leading us down the path of "administrative control").
This man is sick,if the
This man is sick,if the people of cayman cant see that,then the good lord help us.The only people supporting this man is the shameless ones who are always willing to accept handouts.
Um, CNS, please may I suggest
Um, CNS, please may I suggest a public poll - keeping the way things are; OMOV; the (ridiculous) 9 district proposal; don't know/undecided; need to know more about all options?
And may I suggest every time a project or proposal is made, similar polls are made to show our support or not on whats going on in Cayman? I mean, I actually do support one or two things that have been suggested, subject to further info which um, no pun intended tends to be um, explosive at times!
McKeeva Bush has no mandate
McKeeva Bush has no mandate to introduce another electoral arrangement at this time, period.
That is a slap in the face and a total disrespect to everyone who voted in the referedum. A majority of all registered voters, some 57+ % voted either YES for single member constituencies or voted NO to keep the current system. McKeeva's latest brain wave is neither.
It is well past time to hold this man and allies accountable. At the last election he convinced a lot of people that he and his cohorts had a "better way forward". Strange that we have been stuck in reverse ever since!
No flickin way hose... Who
No flickin way hose...
Who would have thought it. You said OMOV would cause divsion, and your 'merge' is going to cause nothing but war don't say nobody warned you.
I had no problem with the OMOV proposal but this is definitely not going to be a popular idea why can't you just concede defeat Mac and give us what we do want... OMOV.
This is exactly the point I
You can clearly see the
You can clearly see the two-sided political system that is all about scoring points. It is so unfortunate that we have arrived at this junction where politicians will be using people and districts to shape Cayman in their own image. All sides claim that their side is the right side, but you dare not think for yourself or you will be considered an outcast, for the other side, or someone who is disloyal to his/her country. As for me, I stand behind no leader! There is only one leader and that is me! There is only one thinker and that is me! When I post a comment here on CNS or any site for that matter, there is no one or politician I choose to defend but politician of my own mind. Until we have a generation of independent thinkers who don't need anyone to follow but their consciences, Cayman will always be under a colonial master - the idol of mind over reason. And anyone who is called politician that I see can't think for himself and has no courage to break away from a party, I don't want nothing to do with them. I don't want a follower in the assembly. I want a leader, and if you have an assembly with leaders, you will have good conversation, reconciliation, and good laws. Such issues would be addressed and dealt with accordingly without any obstruction: people's self-defense, security, doing business, cost of living, conservation, employment, et cetera. Until then, truth will be made a mockery of, whipped, despised, and crucified, but one day there will be a resurrection and whatever is in the dark will come to light. It always happens that way.
The proposal was to mean one
NIP THE BUSH AT THE
NIP THE BUSH AT THE BUD... Out Bush... Leave, Just go. You suck and are a complete hypocrite. You slander and use bible verses/religion to degrade others and sway them into your thinking. You are a complete dictator. You are full of yourself and a disgrace to the island. It sucks that you can convince others to follow you with your constant shouting and intimidation.
Your actions speak just as loud as your foolish words. Cayman Will stand up. These are new times, Out with the old, in with the New.
Bush, can't you understand,
Bush, can't you understand, we the people never asked for you to impose your will on us? You refused ours, how dare you dictate yours upon us? Absolutely no way. You better leave things as they are now so we can right all the wrong in the next election. Stop manipulating the system.
I thought the Bible was
I thought the Bible was teaching us to avoid hypocrisy, but it looks like someone is trying very hard to teaching us how to be hypocrites.
Some people can change gears faster than a stick shift.
We cannot take this man
We cannot take this man seriously! He is past a joke now!
Wow. The logic never ceases
Wow. The logic never ceases to astound me. Just when I thought it could not get more preposterous, it does. So apparently not content with completely dismissing / disregarding the 65% majority voters on the referendum issue (based on actual voter turnout, which is the only basis that should logically count in any voting system), and not only content with the pre-vote insistence that the current system aint broke so don't fix it, the new school of thought is now to propose an entirely new system that will, by all intents and purposes, only seem to work to their own advantage? This new proposition to be considered, is in my humble opinion, is frankly unworkable and insulting, not only to the good people of North Side, East End and Bodden Town, but the entire Cayman Islands. The people of those 3 districts would end up having equal (if not less), say as those in C/Brac & L/Cayman, who have far less voters? I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that these districts were very much in favor of OMOV (as shown by the voting results), and the fact their the NS & EE representatives were very vocal in their support of OMOV? I think by now, the scales might be rapidly falling from the eyes of the rest of the "party loyalists" who blindly gave their support to the existing system remaining in place - surely they must now be waking up to see the reality for what it is, and realizing that a political party will only do whatever it perceives to be in its best interests, rather than the country's as a whole.
so????
so????
Insanity is the order of the
Insanity is the order of the day in Cayman... Shetty needs to consider a large scale mental ward in his hospital.
Is there ANY demonstrated
Is there ANY demonstrated support for this in the community? The Premier's adminstration seems to consist of saying 'you want that? No, no, you want this! This is better'.
Why is the Premier dabbling
Why is the Premier dabbling with smushy ill-defined parameters so soon after the OMOV voting?
I don't understand how this current "plan" will benefit The Cayman Islands as a whole. Maybe that isn't the goal.
To the Premier: Mr. Bush, please understand that the majority of voters wanted OMOV. We understand that you may feel under pressure. I encourage you to step back, review and have someone skilled in finance do a cost analysis regarding the restructuring/reboundarying of Grand Cayman.
I have to tell you, Sir, it just seems wasteful to me. You can't have your pattie and eat it too -- you have to choose, and ............ moreover, you have to allow the electorate to choose. You cannot mandate your preference; you understand that, right?
One last suggestion: This should always be your yardstick --- "Is this good for the Cayman Islands as a whole?". No other measurement is important.
a. How is ___________ good for the Cayman Islands?
b. What will it cost?
c. How will we pay for it?
Mr Miller, please tell me, is
Mr Miller, please tell me, is there anything on this earth you agree with beside your own voice. People are tired of hearing you opposing every dogone thing. Can you not find something to agree with. For petes sake.
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