Has Gaston Browne Taken a U-Turn on Running Losers
We all heard Gaston Browne say after the last election that he does not run losers. But in what appears to be an about face, he is pushing an abject loser for the by-election in St. Mary’s South.
Truth be told, while the Prime Minister called out many of the losing ABLP candidates for being lazy and not fighting hard enough, some of them lost by smaller margins than Marshall.
But somehow, Marshall has been elevated despite her loss and has been appointed as the Leader of Government Business in the Senate.
Senator Samantha Marshall seems to have the ABLP’s full support in the incoming by-election, while former Ministers like Michael Browne, Lennox Weston, Dean Jonas have been “kicked to the curb.” Now wha cudda really cause dis now?
A Sore Loser
But Samantha Marshall is no ordinary loser, she is a sore loser. Once she lost, she never looked back at the community to thank the people who voted for her.
But in recent weeks, she has returned to begin to do some road work and to increase her visibility, after being absent for several months.
Her constituency office is seldom open, and she has literally turned her back on the people. So, she is not just a loser by name but also by nature.
No doubt, Marshall’s absence was as a result of the sound beating that she got at the polls, from a candidate who campaigned against her for a mere five months.
Even with government resources and money at her disposal, the people of St. Mary’s South sent Samantha a clear message that her services were no longer needed.
Samantha is a Bigger Loser Than Winner
It is interesting that Samantha’s loss to Shugy (199 votes) is twice as large as her win against Hilson “Brother B” Baptiste ( 81 votes) in the 2014 election.
It was more than six times the win that she got against Cortwright Marshall (31 votes) in 2018.
So Samantha was never a strong winner to begin with and her popularity has been in decline since 2018.
In August 2022, Gaston Browne announced that Cortwright Marshall was leading Samantha Marshall in the polls. So even Gaston knew well in advance of the elections that Samantha was losing.
Of course, this reverse psychology is evidence that Gaston knew that she was losing and this narrative was put out there, amid rumors that Kelvin Simon would be the UPP Candidate. In short, Samantha’s favorability has been on a downward trend.
A Poor Track Record as a Minister
Samantha also demonstrated a losing track record as a Minister, and this more than likely contributed to her declining popularity and eventual defeat. Marshall was appointed Minister of Social Transformation in 2014 and accomplished very little. Her record can be described as lackluster at best, during the first term of the Gaston Browne administration. She was appointed Minister of Agriculture in January 2020, after Prime Minister Gaston Browne fired Dean Jonas. She was an abject failure in that role as well. One might have thought that as an MP representing one of Antigua’s largest agricultural belts, that the farmers in St. Mary’s South would have received support. But under her tenure, Cades Bay and the farming of our Antigua Black Pineapple were neglected. What was supposed to be a farm became a paddock.
Her photo ops at home and abroad were many, but Samantha Marshall was just full of chat and the people saw right through her. In May 2020, Marshall announced that she was pushing for the full registration of farmers so that greater support could be extended to them. That too, turned out to be a joke. Where is that project today some three years later? A lot of talk about improving food security, but very little was done, even among the farmers in her own constituency who just needed some support.
Poor Performance as a Parliamentary Representative
Look at the condition of the roads in St. Mary’s South. Who can forget the major cracks in the road around Darkwood Beach leading into Johnson’s Point that were exposed in a video that went viral.
Two young men sat at the side of the road helping to direct one-way traffic. Once the story broke, instead of helping them find a job, Samantha gave them a little cash and a plaque. Of course, a few weeks before the elections, some concrete was hastily poured to cover these major cracks in the road. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that drivers and pedestrians remain safe.
How can we forget the clinic in Bolans? It was declared “complete” in December 2022, handed over with much fanfare in March 2023 and was to be opened in two weeks. Almost three months later, the facility is still non-functional. So what were Samantha’s real accomplishments in St. Mary’s South that would warrant re-electing her in the by-election?
A B-Line and Not a U-Turn
So why is Gaston Browne contradicting himself by trying to recycle one of his biggest losers? What will cause voters who rejected Samantha in January, to vote for her again in the next 120 days? Not much has changed, so why would we change course to select a non-performer? But we know new roads are coming. Water might finally be coming. Clinic and good health care are coming.
Support for farmers and fisher folk is coming. Jobs for young people are coming. Milk and honey are definitely coming too. And we see that work has begun on the long awaited recreational facility at Urlings and our children deserve this. The people in St. Mary’s South are happy that Samantha Marshall will finally do some work in the constituency. But she is still a loser and will remain a loser in the minds of voters. We are not turning back.
The people of St. Mary’s South have vision. We are independent minded, proud, and resilient. We are choosers and we do not accept losers. We will make a bee line to re-elect Kelvin “Shugy” Simon overwhelmingly during the by-elections. We will not be flung and caught, neither will we be bought or sold!
Sincerely, Sunbeam
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Total rubbish… A drowning man grabs at a straw… All these spin people looking for a way to take wrong and mek right… 🙄🙄… Ya’ll sickening now…
This is proof that she doesn’t want to work for y’all…she just wants the money and freakin ‘ title!
Sooooo…DON’T VOTE FOR HER!!!
Gaston already know Samantha can’t win. Even if they bring out all the ABLP money and machinery. She was never a strong candidate and finally got a good beating at the polls. Let’s see how crookish/creative he will become to defend Samantha.
And look how Gaston ah greet she; if she was Caucasian he woulda show ab skin he teet’ like ah damn jackass.
HE DON’T EVEN LIKE HE OWN PEOPLE. TARL
PM Browne aka World Boss. Let me say this. Me ah one born labor. Me RED TILL ME DEAD. Me support labor all me life but I going to be up front and tell you this…. SAMANTHA MARSHALL nar go win non by election. Time to move on from she. Somebody else not she. PM you is a people person. You know in politics its not your qualifications but it is if people like you Stop. Mary South people nah LUB SAMANTHA MARSHALL. Time for her to go. Bring somebody else jack. Not she!!!! PM Browne aka World Boss this is a losing battle. She going to lose worst than January 18. Let it go PM Browne. If Shuggy can win in 5 months then the replacement for SAMANTHA MARSHALL can surely beat his azzz is 5 years.
STAY TUNED FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF THE YOUNG(SHUGGY & THE RESTLESS) TAKE ONE GUESS!!
😳🤔
The evil TRIPARTITE collaboration of the ABLP 😈, the self-enriched elites 😈 and the judiciary 😈 are protecting Gaston Browne from any SCRUTINY whatsoever.
AGAIN, WAKE-UP PATRIOTIC AND AUTOCHTHONOUS ANTIGUANS – BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!
She got the most votes of those who followed the rules, hence is the winner. Losers tend to be known cheats especially brazen ones who now make clear they have no respect for the law and our courts
@ tenman
you really working hard for your salary this month 😉
TENMAN your statement is so illogical that for me to indicate to you why it is illogical would perhaps make me look like an idiot.
@Tabor not surprised at your response considering I hear you were among those wrongly advising him that he need only resign if he wins the election. Don’t you tire of being more wrong than right? Keep giving UPP bad legal advise (Like J. Simon)since in essence you help ABLP (unwitting comrade). Look at where we are at now when you wrote before his hands were clean. Simon is now afraid of the court
You, more than most,would know about cheating and dishonesty. I think we should listen to you because you have so much to disseminate.
@Tenman
Is The Civil Service Commission the law? As far as know they can only dictate policies and if you don’t abide by their policies, they can fire you. You know what the Constitution says about who qualifies to be elected. Shuggy met the requirements of the Constitution when he was elected as he had already resigned. I notice that you labourites always talk about Civil Service Commission but not the constitution.
@Think about it- its actually stated in the disqualification section of the constitution, along with dual citizneship. Try and keep up.
A vote for Samantha Marshall is a vote for gaston browne.
Reject Samantha Marshall and gaston browne (clown).
Vote for Shuggy.
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