Former OUTBermuda Executive Director running in C2 St. George’s West
“Today I am running to fight for you. Seniors counting coins at the check-out, teachers buying food to feed their students…Hope is not passive, it requires action.” Words of inspiration and hope from Tiffany Paynter, announcing her candidacy in the February 18th General Election.
Joined by supporters and members of the media on the steps of Sessions House this morning, Ms. Paynter says that her decision to run as an independent was driven by the ruling Progressive Labour Party’s setting the election on a date where many young Bermudians would be abroad in school. “A tipping point was the PLP’s decision to cast the election with six weeks, and providing young people no opportunity to vote.”
Deciding to run in Constituency 2 St. George’s West, a seat currently held by the PLP’s Kim Swan, was an easy choice for Ms. Paynter. She grew up in St. George’s, experiencing firsthand a nuanced polarity that characterises the lives of many Bermudians. “I was raised by a bartender and a waitress working paycheck to paycheck to feed six kids… Growing up poor in government housing and attending Saltus. Head Girl by day, and packing groceries and walking dogs by night.” These are the experiences, she argues, that have allowed her to successfully build bridges “between diverse people, varying ideas, and between what is and what could be.”
Ms. Paynter’s work spans the business, non-profit, and government sectors, having most notably served as the Executive Director for LGBTQ-rights organisation OUTBermuda (2022-2024). Despite her public persona, she affirms that she is “not here for titles or accolades or a paycheck”, but to continue in a mission that champions hard work, smart work, service to the people of Bermuda.
Similar to her independent peers, Ms. Paynter takes issue with the state of party politics. She says that while parties may have worked in the past, they are no longer fit for purpose. Likening the opposition One Bermuda Alliance and PLP to toxic parents fighting in a boxing ring, she says that it’s the people who are ultimately left battered, bruised and apathetic.
“Every election cycle we’re asked to vote for the party, the devil you know, or the lesser of two evils. I reject that completely. I want someone to vote for, not someone to vote against.” She points to the historically low voter turn-out seen in the 2020 election compared to the cycle before it. Ms. Paynter says that the divisiveness created by political back-and-forth turns the people into rivals and enemies to the detriment of collective wellbeing. “The fight was never meant to be between us, it was meant to be for us…Parties put loyalty above progress, and the same old debates keep us stuck in the past.”
Highlighting the current work of independent candidates Cire Bean and Juanae Crockwell, Ms. Paynter reminding the public that the independents are individuals who are attempting to spark change at a grassroots level. She explains that while independents may lack the machine that the PLP and OBA have (slick press junkets, commercials, a media team), what they lack in frills they more than make-up for in heart and dedication. The independents are people “with fulltime jobs and no time” who are making time to get involved for the betterment of Bermuda.
Delivering Black American poet Gil Scott-Heron’s iconic line, Ms. Paynter reminding the public that “the revolution will not be televised.” She encourages the electorate to look beyond the narratives spun by the parties, and instead look at the individual candidates running in their constituencies before making an informed decision on voting day. As for what constituents in C2 can expect from Ms. Paynter should her candidacy be successful? At the moment, that will be wholly up to them. “I make no promises today because I need to listen first.”
