OPINION: Barbara Coates Bows Out – The Uphill Battle Against Anthony Smith Jr. Was Just Too Much Barbara Coates’ quiet exit from the political race in All Saints West is no surprise, because from the very beginning, it was clear, this was never her fight to win.
Coates, the United Progressive Party’s (UPP) now-former candidate for the constituency, has finally accepted what the ground has been whispering for months defeating Anthony Smith Jr. was a mountain too steep to climb. It wasn’t just political, it was personal. The people of All Saints West have already chosen a leader they know, trust, and see all the time. Trying to unseat him without those same grassroots credentials was not just ambitious,it was near impossible.
From the outset, Barbara Coates struggled to connect with the people. Her presence in the constituency felt more like a formality than a force. In villages like Sea View Farm, where street credibility, community touch, and visibility matter, she was seen as distant,more at home than among the people and community.
While Anthony Smith Jr. was doing what he did all his life, walking the roads, showing up for the sport clubs, lending a hand on local projects, while Coates was still trying to explain who she was. Ambition alone doesn’t win votes, especially in a constituency where familiarity, humility, and service are currency. Her attempts to bridge the gap came off as calculated and late and the people of All Saints West saw through it.
Though she attempted to frame her quiet and reserved nature as “shyness,” it read to many as disinterest or disconnect. That’s a fatal flaw in a constituency where representation is personal and politics is as much about emotional connection as it is about policy.
Anthony Smith Jr. is not just the MP. He’s our “Home town Hero” the young man that loves and help people, #Legit with Smith
Don’t matter what party, you can’t deny that the man has put in the work. Be it on the sports field, helping the residents, or attending a funeral or school event, his face is familiar, and his efforts are not just consistent but genuine. Barbara Coates simply couldn’t match that.
As her campaign sputtered, Coates began looking elsewhere and now, she’s returning to the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association (ABFA), reportedly preparing to contest for the presidency
with Everton “Batow” Gonsalves stepping down. It’s a space she knows, one where her background might serve her better. Frankly, it’s a far more natural fit.
Let’s not forget the cost of this failed political bid: time, energy, money and perhaps most painfully the exposure of personal vulnerabilities. Coates has been left outmaneuvered and cast aside by her own party, which now seems poised to parachute Harold Lovell into the very seat she spent months preparing to contest. If that doesn’t sting, it should.
The UPP has a history of using and discarding candidates in All Saints West. From Chandler Codrington to Ralph Potter, and now Barbara Coates, the message is loud and clear: unless you fit into the mold carved by the party’s old guard, your political shelf life is short. That’s a tragedy for a party that claims to be committed to renewal.
But let’s focus on what this means for the people of All Saints West, they still have a representative who knows them, walks with them, and works for them. As for Barbara Coates? She fought a battle she was never equipped to win and bowed out before the loss could be made official.
This wasn’t a resignation. It was a quiet admission of defeat. In politics, especially in All Saints West, connection beats credentials every time.
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The smiths needs to stop writing all this drivel. The people are going to reject baby judas.
Well Lawd!! My labour brothers tone it down!! The pace with which these articles are coming at the recent decision by Lovell suggests a lot of nervousness in the labour camp. I dont like it Rasta!! He was was beaten several times before 6 whole times. What’s different this time?? The constituency?
Wah Tabor, Mansour, Dr. Benjamin, Fled, Pastor Bird the prophet and all the Harold people go do now, switch back? I dont like it Rasta!!!!
Three times you talked about Anthony Smith walking and talking and being with constituents. Say it again and you might convince yourself this was so.
This was not so. During the campaign, it was the branch chairman and his members who did the footwork and the contact work. Babyface spent a lot of time off island, and when he was around was too lazy to go out there. Just like the one before him, the jumper Lazymin.
Babyface Traitor smith came along at the right time and he benefitted from the swing which was going in UPP’s favour at the time.
People not stupid. They know that if it was not he would have to go into a by-election, Gaston Browne woulda had him parading in a red shirt long time. What a humiliation!
Barbara is a grown ass woman who tried something and in the process excelled in the political arena growing into what has become a challenge but yet finding her niche as to where she needs to be….continue to press on and dont let anyone steal your peace…She reminds me so much of her Mom Ernie Samuel who was a pillar in the Seaviewfarm community…Gyrll you have made her proud💯💢💥💫🫵👍👍….Congrates and thanks for reminding us sometimes its not about self but for the country….