Succeeds Wayne Caines in Devonshire North West
Outgoing MP and BELCO President Wayne Caines, Premier David Burt and Ms Alexa Lightbourne. Photo: Bermuda Broadcasting
The Progressive Labour Party’s Alaska Hall was filled with supporters this morning as the party introduced its candidate for Constituency 14 Devonshire North West, Ms Alexa Lightbourne.
Ms Lightbourne will succeed PLP MP Wayne Caines, who recently announced he will not contest the February 18th election.
Ms Lightbourne is currently the Head of Operations & Strategy for The Cabinet Office, previously holding the position of Advisor to the Minister of Home Affairs and Acting Special Advisor to the Premier.
Premier and Finance Minister David Burt said that Ms Lightbourne’s achievements — including the LED lightbulb exchange, solar rebate programme, and the Government’s future energy strategy — “demonstrates her commitment to innovation and sustainability.”
Addressing the media, party members, family and friends, Ms Lightbourne said that she seeks to uphold the values of justice, fairness, and equality: “This election is a choice or moral alignment. What drives me to step out of the shadows is a commitment to advance the ideals that our ancestors fought for.”
Ms Lightbourne seemingly took aim at the opposition One Bermuda Alliance: “History reminds us that we made a choice. A choice to emancipate ourselves from the very ideals and agendas of the very individuals who have now attempted to reinvent themselves to the voters. We are experiencing a resurgence of ethical ideas and agendas that do not serve us.”
When asked by Bermuda Broadcasting’s Alisa Bernardo whether or not she had begun canvassing, Ms Lightbourne said. “I have been engaging with the residents consistently, but I do look forward to doing more.”
When Miss Bernardo asked how the PLP candidate would engage with politically-disillusioned members of the electorate, she affirmed that meeting people where they are would be her first step.
Regarding what kind of society Ms Lightbourne would like to see Bermuda become in the next five years, she explained: “Bermuda is a close-knit society and I think that we may have gone awry in terms of the sense of community and shared identity … If we are connected in our shared struggle and shared successes, we can have a better community and sense of true Bermudian camaraderie that we once enjoyed and spoke of.”
Ms Lighbourne is set to go head-to-head with the OBA’s David Rogers and environmental advocate Noelle Young next month when Bermudians head to the ballot box.
In the 2020 election, Wayne Caines won 67% of the vote while the OBA’s Catherine Kempe won just under 33%.
You can view the full press conference, below:
