The Scramble for Vieux Fort

Dr. Anderson Reynolds

Now that Dr. Kenny Anthony, the six-term Vieux Fort District Rep and three-term Prime Minister, is apparently not seeking a seventh term, the Vieux Fort seat is wide open. Would-be St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) candidates are now more comfortable raising their hands knowing they won’t be challenging or dissing the incumbent, and independents and aspiring United Workers Party (UWP) candidates are probably licking their chops, thinking they have a much better shot at victory now that they won’t be going up against the colossal political operator who has dominated the St. Lucian political landscape for the better part of three decades, and who recently (2022) celebrated his quarter-of-a-century political representation of Vieux Fort with a thanksgiving church service followed by a fete.

Augustus Cadette—a king in the making?

First off the block is Augustus Cadette. Up until recently, he was serving as the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the current Philip J. Pierre SLP Administration, but apparently was so keyed up and confident of winning the SLP (Vieux Fort South District Rep) nomination and successfully contesting the general elections, that, although elections are still two years away, he has already resigned his cushy job in preparation to join the political fray.

Augustus Cadette appears ripe for the honors. A career public servant, he holds a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Toronto and a master’s in public policy from the prestigious University of Chicago (ranked in the top 10 universities in the world, and in the top four for Nobel Prize winners), where he specialized in social and economic development policy. In his 24 plus years as a public servant, which included stints as secondary school teacher, Vieux Fort community development officer, deputy permanent secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Sports, and most recently PS in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he delved into development issues, poverty alleviation, and public policy analysis and administration.

Given that Vieux Fort is the nation’s third poorest district and is plagued with its highest rate of joblessness, we can all agree that it is in dire need of poverty alleviation, and so Mr. Cadette’s training and experience may be just what the doctor prescribed.

Cadette is a born-and-raised Vieux Fortian (more precisely, he is from the westside of Vieux Fort in the area generally known as the Bacadere) and a long-standing active supporter of the St. Lucia Labour Party and he is good friends with and runs in the same circles as prominent SLP politicians Alva Baptiste and Moses Jn Baptiste. He presents an affable bearing and readily immerses in the town’s social and cultural life. Always eager to discuss the pressing problems of Vieux Fort and St. Lucia, he waxes eloquence and displays an erudite intellect.

So with all these appealing personal qualities and dispositions, combined with his academic qualifications and professional experience, many Vieux Fortians were thinking of Augustus Cadette as a shoo-in District Rep replacement for Kenny Anthony.

But then, with Dr. Anthony’s looming retirement, the floodgates have opened.

Tresha Lionel—the darling of Vieux Fort?

There is thirty-one-year-old Tresha Lionel, who may well turn out to be the darling of Vieux Fort and/or the darling of the Labour Party, for besides her youth, gender, and agreeable personality, she is from Bruceville, where her parents operate a popular restaurant and bar and entertainment center that sits right alongside Kenny Anthony’s “promenade.”

It is no secret that recently Bruceville, also known as Shanty Town, has been at the center of the nation’s worst spate of violence. For example, although possessing just 6 percent of the population, Vieux Fort South (of which Bruceville is part) accounted for 36 percent or 12 of the 33 murders committed so far this year (up to June 2). And in 2023, the constituency was the theatre of 21 (or 30 percent) of the 70 reported murders. So comprising just a little over one-twentieth of the population, Vieux Fort South accounts for about one-third of the murders.

What better person to help set Bruceville and Vieux Fort on the path to progress and redemption than one arising from the midst of the chaos and dysfunctionality, and by example, proving that Vieux Fort isn’t hopeless after all and that good things can come out of the community, which brings to mind the heroes and heroines of the epic tales who leave their ordinary world and venture out into the unknown world to secure the elixir that would heal their people.

Of course, Ms Lionel brings much more than a romantic tale to the picture. As a national island scholar, she earned a bachelor’s in international relations and digital media and news from the University of Buckingham, as well as a bachelor of law (LLB with psychology) from the University of Essex (online). In the UK, she served as chief editor and journalist at Buckingham News, and in St. Lucia as a reporter and news anchor at Choice TV, as well as news director and executive producer at Hot 7 Tv, and host and co-producer of her own talk show, Mornings with Tresha. In terms of community work, she has served as the PRO of several entities, including the National Youth Council, Vieux Fort Youth and Sports Council, and the Vieux Fort Carnival Association.

Ms. Lionel has also distinguished herself as somewhat of a literary maestro. She was awarded the National Youth Award for Poetry, the Derek Walcott Prize at the Word Alive Competition, and her work has been longlisted for the 2023 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Her collection of essays, which explores the social issues and realities of her community and country, will soon be published, thus joining the growing body of distinctive Vieux Fort literature spearheaded by Modeste Downes, Dr. Jolien Harmsen, and Dr. Anderson Reynolds.

Moreover, if Ms. Lionel’s previous advocacies are anything to go by, despite her youth (though not so young compared with Menissa Rambally who was barely 21 in 1997 when she successfully contested the Castries South East seat), she is likely well up to the challenge of leading Bruceville and Vieux Fort out of its current morass. At the University of Buckingham, she served as the ambassador for At-Risk Refugee Academics, as well as the Faculty Advisor for the Harvard World United Nations Conference in Italy, where she addressed such issues as the plight of women in refugee camps. While studying, she also found time to help organize Reclaim the Night, the largest student march in the UK, at which thousands protested against sexual assault on women on campus. And to cap it all, back in St. Lucia, she founded Cookies and Conversations, a movement focusing on helping young women from disadvantaged communities find employment and providing them a safe space to speak openly about the pressing issues affecting their lives.

Danny Butcher—the Kenny Anthony surrogate?

But if you think the SLP candidacy would be a two-way fight between Mr. Cadette and Ms. Lionel, think again. Dr. Kenny Anthony may not be running this time around, but, apparently, he is far from finished with politics. It was rumored that, initially, he was putting his weight behind his former press secretary, Jadia Jn Pierre-Emmanuel, now a practicing attorney, but it seems there was such strong opposition to Ms. Jn Pierre (probably because she wasn’t seen as being from Vieux Fort, though she is originally from nearby Laborie, and during her stint as press secretary she may have rubbed some people the wrong way) that Dr. Anthony opted instead for his 2021 campaign manager, thirty-something Danny Butcher, who, born and raised in Roots Alley, part of the area once called The Mang, sandwiched between New Dock Road and Clarke Street, is undeniably Vieux Fortian.

Mr. Butcher, who holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from Caribbean Union College (CUC) in Trinidad, renamed University of the Southern Caribbean (USC), is presently on study leave from the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School, where he taught social studies. He is pursuing a doctorate degree in education at the University of the West Indies in Cave Hill, Barbados. In fact, when we spoke in May he was preparing to sit his PhD qualifying exams. I suspect the plan is to complete his PhD dissertation in time for the next general elections, expected in 2026.

Mr. Butcher seems well-groomed for political leadership and a life of public service. Besides serving as an associate pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and as Dr. Anthony’s campaign manager (during which I’m told he did house-to-house campaigning), in 2022 he served as the vice-chairman of the SLP Vieux Fort South constituency group, and in an earlier life he was actively involved with the Vieux Fort Youth and Sports Council and the National Youth Parliament.

The Kenny Anthony Power Tic

Augustus Cadette shouldn’t have been surprised by Dr. Anthony’s aversion to relinquishing power. Back in 2006, after two terms as prime minister, refusing to step down as party leader and make way for Mario Michel, whom many saw as next in line for the party leadership, Dr. Anthony annulled the term-limit restrictions of the SLP constitution that he himself had authored, thus clearing the way for him to hang on to the party leadership and the opportunity for subsequent terms as prime minister. In fact, this wasn’t the first time that laws had been changed to specifically accommodate the political ambitions of the three-term prime minister. Further back, during the 1979-1982 aborted SLP administration, the laws of the then recently independent country were changed to enable an underaged Kenny Anthony to become a cabinet minister.

Dr. Ernest Hilaire
Deputy Prime Minister

Even when around 2016 (according to pundits), Kenny Anthony was contemplating stepping away from electoral politics, he sought ways to indirectly hold on to power or continue to leverage authority. The story goes that he was planning to use the 2016-2021 term in office to groom his heir-apparent, Dr. Ernest Hilaire (thus bypassing Philip J. Pierre whom some saw as the one next in line) for the party leadership and hopefully for the prime ministership come the next elections (2021), and he had already given the nod to senator and business magnate, Debra Tobierre, to replace him as the Vieux Fort South constituency candidate. Of course, we didn’t get the chance to confirm these ruminations because things went sour for Kenny Anthony and his Labour Party with Chastanet’s and UWP’s surprising 2016 electoral victory. However, in hindsight, Labour’s defeat turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Philip J. Pierre because it unleashed the chain of events that enabled him to become prime minister.

So thanks in part to Kenny Anthony’s refusal or inability to step away from power, what was once looking to Mr. Cadette as a straightforward walk to the Vieux Fort South SLP candidacy was now crowded with obstacles. So he made a chess move. He embraced in his inner circle two formerly staunch supporters of Kenny Anthony, whom the District Rep had unceremoniously sidelined after the 2021 general elections that returned his Party to power. For their part, these two SLP operators likely jumped at the opportunity to team up with Cadette, if nothing else but to oppose Kenny Anthony and thus extract a measure of vengeance for his ostracism.

It’s Not All That It Seems

St. Lucia’s intra-party politics can be quite elusive.

At the apex of the Labour Party hierarchy is the national executive committee (note a similar structure and process exist for the UWP), comprising the political leader (currently Philip J. Pierre), first deputy political leader, second deputy political leader, chairman (currently Moses Jn Baptiste), deputy chairman, general secretary (functions as CEO, currently Leo Clarke), deputy general secretary, treasurer, secretary, and several specialized officers.

The election of the national executive and party leader is conducted by a majority vote at the conference of delegates comprising delegates representing each of the 17 constituency districts. The party leader can be regarded as the party’s de facto nominee for prime minister since if the party were to win the general elections and the party leader was to win his or her seat, he or she would invariably become prime minister.

When the party apparatus is fully functional, each electoral or constituency district has an active local chapter, so there are potentially 17 SLP constituency district chapters. One can become an official member (an insider) of the party by joining or registering with one of the chapters and keeping up with annual membership dues. Each chapter has an executive or management committee comprising a chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, and treasurer. The executive is elected by majority vote at the chapter’s annual general assembly.

The first step in seeking the SLP candidacy would be to lodge a formal intention or application with the district management committee. Of course, it would help the cause of the would-be candidate to canvass for support among SLP supporters and the constituency membership and to test the grounds even before lodging a formal application. The ideal or most democratic approach to selecting candidates would be via run-off elections whereby the constituency membership casts votes at a constituency assembly, with the person garnering the most votes emerging as the party’s candidate of choice.

But apparently, it isn’t the district management committee that decides on whether to host run-off elections. The committee submits the slate of candidates to the national executive, which decides whether to sanction a run-off, or simply select a candidate from the slate, or even go with a candidate outside of the slate. Indeed, sometimes, when appointing a candidate, the national executive and party leader may completely bypass the constituency committee. So, the selection of candidates is quite often a not so democratic process, and it seems that a would-be candidate could appeal directly to the party hierarchy instead of going through the local executive.

Even when the district constituency has an overwhelming choice of candidate, the party leadership can reject that choice in favor of someone of their preference.

Take, for example, the case of the Choiseul-Saltibus district in the 2021 elections. The Labour Party’s upper hierarchy nominated Dr. Pauline Prospere, an educator, as its candidate for the Choiseul-Saltibus seat, even after it appeared the district had clarified that their overwhelming choice was Dr. Alphonsus St. Rose, an internist and gastroenterologist. In disgust, Dr. St. Rose presented a petition of 700 signatures as evidence that most of the Labour supporters in the constituency had rejected the party’s decision. And went on to characterize the party’s candidate selection process as “tainted, rigged, manipulated, contaminated,” and “mired in improprieties and irregularities.” Clearly, in this scenario, the democratic approach would have been for the SLP Choiseul-Saltibus constituency to select their candidate by a majority vote.

Dr. St. Rose threatened to bypass the Labour Party political machinery and contest the Choiseul-Saltibus seat as an independent candidate, a decision that would have represented the worst of all worlds for the Labour Party because it was likely to split the Labour vote between the two doctors, thus making it much more difficult for SLP to unseat John Bradley Felix, the incumbent (UWP) district representative.

The Party was able to talk Dr. St. Rose out of contesting the seat, which brings to mind another reality of the St. Lucia political process.

Faced with a choice of you winning your seat but your Party losing the elections versus you losing your seat (or, as was the case of Dr. St. Rose, taking a hit for the party and not running) but your party winning the elections, financially and otherwise, you are likely better off in the second scenario. In the first scenario, you will be awarded a seat in parliament and roughly $5,200 monthly salary, but as a member of the opposition, you would have little influence and would be the papicho and punching bag of the ruling MPs. But, on the other hand, as the sacrificial lamb of the party, you could be given a ministry or made a parliamentary secretary (a minister within a ministry), enjoying (about $12,900), which is more than double the pay of a parliamentarian. Moreover, since your party is in power, you would carry plenty of influence, which can be parleyed into kickbacks and other perks.

In the 2021 general elections, Dr. St. Rose probably felt vindicated, because although Labour won by a landslide, Dr. Pauline Prospere failed to win the Choiseul-Saltibus seat. But, for her efforts, she was made a senator and a Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education. How about Dr. St. Rose, how was he compensated for serving as the Party’s sacrificial lamb? Well, I suspect his medical practice was probably more lucrative than any post he would have been given, so he stuck with his profession, suggesting that he had not entered politics for a job but to actually make a difference in the lives of his people.

There is another twist to the candidate election process. Sometimes, not only would the party leader and national executive committee reject constituency candidate nominations, but when it suits their purposes, they opt for not fielding any candidate.

Peter Lansiquot, Ambassador to Mexico and Venezuela

For example, in the 2021 general elections, there were two or three SLP candidates already campaigning on the ground to give themselves a better chance of receiving the nod to contest the elections as their party’s nominee. Among them was Peter Lansiquot, an economist and career diplomat who, with the intention of running for the Castries Central seat, had timed his retirement from CARICOM (as an economist) to coincide with the campaign season leading to the 2021 general elections. Mr. Lansiquot was so gungho about running for the seat that he was already conducting house-to-house visits, and when fires destroyed several homes in the constituency (Rose Hill and Wilton’s Yard, to be exact), he took steps to establish a People’s Distress Fund to which he pledged $5000 as starters.

However, the SLP hierarchy had other plans. Faced with a seemingly lackluster political leader, and devoid of a clear vision for the country (in effect Labour having lost its way), Richard Frederick, a lawyer-turned politician-turned pariah-turned talk-show host, had seemingly become its de facto political leader and definitely one of its most colorful and charismatic proponents, reminding some of the great George Odlum. Yet Richard Frederick, a former UWP district rep and cabinet minister, who was kicked out of the UWP and whose visa was revoked by the US for undisclosed reasons, was no Labour. His nightly attacks on the UWP government were probably more about vengeance against Allen Chastanet and his UWP administration than about support for the SLP or contesting a constituency seat. Nonetheless, rather than splitting the Labour vote between Richard Frederick (who was running as an independent) and an SLP candidate, despite the likes of Peter Lansiquot’s eagerness to contest the Castries Central seat under Labour’s banner, the party hierarchy decided against putting up a candidate. Frederick easily won the seat and was made a cabinet minister for his unmitigated support of the SLP and ceaseless castigation of the UWP.

As for Lansiquot, for towing the party line and his enthusiastic campaigning for the party, he was rewarded with the position of Ambassador to Mexico and Venezuela.

There can be yet another twist to the election process that gives pause even when the process appears democratic and a candidate wins the nomination convincingly. At the 2013 UWP conference of delegates, Allen Chastanet defeated the former prime minister, Stephenson King, for the party leadership by a commanding vote of 264-99. But then, in 2021, when King defected from the UWP a few weeks before the elections to contest his seat as an independent candidate, he revealed that back in 2013 Allen Chastanet had literally paid delegates to vote for him, and his team had gone as far as replacing delegates loyal to King with those willing to vote for Chastanet.

I suspect that as a student of politics and one fond of referencing Niccolò Machiavelli (the 16th-century Italian philosopher best known for his political treatise,The Prince), Augustus Cadette would have been well aware of the political machinations mentioned above. Nonetheless, apparently seeking to nullify the influence of Kenny Anthony on internal constituency politics and maybe overestimating the role of the district management committee in nominating/selecting electoral candidates, he and his two Kenny Anthony “rejects” made another chess move.

They encouraged and cajoled SLP stalwarts sympathetic to their cause to officially join the party, so that at the October 2023 AGM, with their implants, they would have the numbers to vote their designated appointees to the executive committee. Accordingly, at the AGM Cadette successfully populated the committee with his people, including himself serving as vice-chairman.

Kenny Anthony didn’t take too kindly to Cadette’s maneuvers, which he probably saw as an affront, an attempt to steal his political thunder. So as if to echo the SLP theme of “strengthening our base, preserving our legacy, and protecting our future” (only in the case of Dr. Anthony “my” replaced “our”), at the SLP Vieux Fort South constituency convention that followed the AGM, he reportedly countered Cadette’s move with the pronouncement that he knows there are people with an interest in the Vieux Fort seat, but they haven’t come to him, and he hasn’t told anyone that he won’t be contesting the seat. And even if people have interest and names are submitted to the national executive for consideration, as the long-serving district rep and former leader of the party, he would have a say in what finally obtains.

With this assertion, it seems the path for Augustus Cadette to become the SLP candidate for Vieux Fort South had become even more perilous.

But what about Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre? Would he view the Kenny Anthony surrogate as the best candidate for Vieux Fort South? If not, would he be cowered into abiding by his former boss’s choice? Or does he have a different choice in mind that he plans to act on? Given the prime minister’s emphasis on the youth, his openness to abiding with UN goals (gender diversity in government being one of them), and the romanticism of Tresha becoming the District Rep of Vieux Fort, I won’t be surprised if the young lady tops his list of candidates.

Besides, as the prime minister has been indirectly preaching, youth matters. The perfect illustration of that is the Gros Islet District Rep and Minister for Youth Development and Sports, Kenson Casimir. It’s a pleasure watching Mr. Casimir in action: the exuberance, the beaming of energy and enthusiasm, the proactiveness, the speed and energy with which he addresses the issues arising in his community, including the 2022 flooding of Corinth and other parts of his constituency. The minister is so gungho about taking care of his people that one gets the impression that he likes nothing better than a crisis that would allow him to jump in and save the day. This contrasts ever so sharply with the lethargic manner in which the elderly Vieux Fort South District Rep has approached the constituency’s socioeconomic crisis of poverty, unemployment, and escalating violent crime.

Moreover, watching Parliament in action gives the impression of a bunch of not-so-young, over-fed cats out of touch with reality whose sole purpose is jostling for attention. I believe a few more women and younger parliamentarians would do the country plenty of good.

Kenson Casimir, youth matters, ala the “Youth Economy”

Philip J. Pierre, it seems, has gone to great lengths to avoid friction or conflict with Kenny Anthony, waiting patiently in the wings until Kenny Anthony decided to relinquish the party leadership, appeasing him with the cabinet position of his choice (which Dr. Anthony refused ) and the title of senior minister/parliamentarian, and ignoring Dr. Anthony’s soft criticism of his administration in parliament. All this, knowing full well Dr. Anthony was never enamored with him (if the rumors be true), choosing Dr. Hilaire over him as heir apparent. From where I stand, Prime Minister Pierre’s government looks like the best-managed and orchestrated government in St. Lucia’s history (or maybe I get this impression because his followed Chastanet’s which some people regarded as the worst in the island’s history) and if the prime minister can muster the courage to implement a Marshall-like plan for Vieux Fort, history may well herald him as the best prime minister in the nation’s history, and one of the best in the region. But you wouldn’t guess any of this by listening to the former prime minister. In hindsight, it seems the best thing to have happened to Philip J. Pierre was Labour losing the 2016 general elections.

So will the selection of the Vieux Fort candidate be the issue that brings to a halt Prime Minister Pierre’s dance around his former prime minister?

The Flood Gates are Open

Notwithstanding, Augustus Cadette would be shortsighted to believe that Kenny Anthony, Tresha Lionel and Danny Butcher are all he needs to worry about in securing the SLP nomination. With elections still two years away, who knows how many other SLP candidates will come out of the woodwork now that Dr. Anthony may be calling it “quits?”

Vieux Fort’s great defender and advocator Julius James; social and environmental activist and Vieux Fort’s greatest musical exponent Monty Maxwell; business innovator Alexander Clarke; economic professor Dr. Prosper Raynold whose retirement seems to coincide with this election cycle; former inspector of police Ricky Etienne, and hotel developer Wilson Jn Baptiste who has indicated an interest in the seat, are all born and raised Vieux Fortians who may decide to raise their hands.

After all, it’s a good time to be active in the Labour Party; for outside of a miracle, I don’t see Allen Chastanet and his UWP getting back in power any time soon. So whether you are selected to run for an SLP seat or not, and, if selected, whether you successfully contest the seat or not, once the party wins, you can’t lose. If you don’t believe me, talk to the likes of Peter Lansiquot, Dr. Pauline Prospere, and Guibion Ferdinand, all of whom were rewarded handily for either taking a hit for the Party or running and losing the elections. Besides, Vieux Fort is in need of a restoration, and I suspect only a full-blooded Vieux Fortian can lead the way.

Now, even if Augustus Cadette (or, for that matter, any other SLP) were to win his party’s nomination, it is by no means smooth sailing. After all, he is no Kenny D. Anthony and would-be independent and UWP candidates are smelling blood.

On the UWP side, Claude Charlemagne, a businessman, sports enthusiast and retired police officer, who is currently the Vieux Fort youth and sports officer; Rhon Stephens, a businessman and son of former Vieux Fort District Rep, the distinguished and highly accomplished Eldridge Stephens; Wayne Harrow, an attorney at law; Wilbert “Carrot” Mahy, who some view as the de facto mayor of Vieux Fort; Alwyn Harris, a businessman; and radio personality Leanna “Lady Lee” Johannes, who hosts a popular radio program on Hot FM, are all full-blooded Vieux Fortians who maybe looking forward to contesting the Vieux Fort South seat under the UWP banner.

And regarding independent candidates, social media blogger and influencer David Troy “Apa” Charles, whose witty and comedic commentaries on his talk show, Equal Rights and Justice for One and All, have attracted a considerable following, has made no bones about his intention to run as an independent candidate. He reportedly told Kingsley Emanuel at the Loop:

I will remain as an independent candidate. I will not change…We need someone who can make things happen in Vieux-Fort. We need someone who can get the attention of the authority… We have a district representative for so many years but we are not satisfied with his performance. We are not seeing him…(with my entry into politics) I feel the ground is shifting.

A previous article purported that Vieux Fort is experiencing a political leadership crisis in that it has been cursed with district reps who don’t have the district at heart, who more often than not are not from Vieux Fort, and who have simply used the Vieux Fort seat as a political stepping stone to national and international glory.

Yet, suddenly, with the threat of Kenny Anthony not seeking a seventh term, Vieux Fort has coughed up an abundance of political leadership talent.

So, just as SLP losing the 2016 elections was the best thing to have happened to Philip J. Pierre, Kenny Anthony not running for the Vieux Fort seat might be the best thing to happen to Vieux Fort. Finally, it seems the district will get the kind of representation that would put Vieux Fortians First and put the district on the path of socioeconomic progress.