Mr. Elkin Richardson is an at large independent candidate contesting the upcoming 2020 general elections. Running under the symbol of the transformer, Richardson is griping over a serious impasse between him and the Anguilla National Youth Council (ANYC) which has been hosting prominent political debates lately.
According to him, he sees the ANYC debates as events that amount to nothing more than “popularity contests”. He remarked: “Such contests do not achieve the debates’ objectives. For the most part, the candidates are not answering the questions directly, and at the end of the sessions it is the crowd’s favorite who emerges as the winner.”
With the date for national elections slated for Monday, June 29th — and advance polling for the elder and essential officers being on Friday, June 26th — The Anguillian conducted an interview with Mr. Richardson recently because he has not been very visible on the campaign trail. Apart from willingly engaging in the interview, he was adamant on calling out the ANYC for other flaws which he perceives in the moderation of its debates.
He stated: “I only wish, going forward, that the questions from the ANYC would be concentrated on the entire development of the country, and not just on the views and desires of the youth.”
“Candidates are competing against each other instead of honestly dealing with the issues,” he lamented, “but Anguilla is bigger than all of us.”
The interview with Mr. Richardson proceeded with seven questions as follows:
Question 1: What inspired you to become involved in politics initially?
“In 1977, when I had just left school, there was an uprising initiated by the late Doreen Duncan against the Webster administration where the populace voted for a ‘lack of confidence’ in that administration. Since then, I had the desire to become involved on the political stage in a bid to represent the affairs of my country politically. That revolt against Mr. Webster caused a political division. So, I set out to enlist in the Anguilla Police Force with the intention to contribute one day to Anguilla in a leadership capacity.”
Question 2: Over the years, you have been affiliated with the AUM, now APM, as a representative of Valley North. For this election, however, you have postulated yourself as an independent at large candidate. What factors would you indentify as those that led to making this decision?
“I had been a candidate for the Valley North constituency in the 2015 elections. But there had always been a challenge for me from one particular member of the AUM party. He somehow held the view that it was his party. He was the one who made most of the decisions, and any decision that any one made had to be approved by him.
“So he always had the final word and the biggest say. At one point in time, he made the decision that I would no longer be a member of the party. Most members of the party unwillingly decided, with him, to get rid of Elkin. Even so, they wanted me to be a member of the party, but not as a candidate. I would not have that arrangement, so in order to fulfill my passion in service to my country, I have decided to run as an independent candidate now.”
Question 3: You are running under the symbol of the transformer, and you have coined for yourself the name “Current”. What inspired your thoughts for such a name?
“The name Current was given to me long ago by a good friend of mine, Randolph “Dousa” Richardson. It was because I was involved in an incident once where I was almost electrocuted by a surge of current, while doing some construction work. Because I survived that encounter, Dousa told me, ‘Boy Elkin, you are current’. However, the concept of the transformer has nothing to do with electricity, per se, but it concerns my vision of transforming Anguilla from what it is now to what it has the potential to become — transforming Anguilla.”
Question 4: What are some of the issues that you consider to be of importance to our communities at this time, prior to the general elections?
“Number one, our relationship with the British has much to be desired. I do not think there is an even playing field between the Her Majesty’s Government and the people of Anguilla. This is reflected in the fact that our social services are down, our education sector is down, our health services are down, and just about every aspect of the services in Anguilla is below par in comparison to British standards.
“I do not believe that our elected officials have been truthful to our people, and if I would become a part of the future government, I would want to tell our people exactly what the stories are behind these issues, and I would do my best to address them in order to transform Anguilla.”
Question 5: Which of these issues would you consider priority and, if elected to office, how would you set out to address them?
“Two of my concerns are education and health. There are many of our students, especially our males, who leave school not being able to find themselves jobs that require academic skills. These children should be able to be interested in a vocational skill of some kind. Currently, I do not feel that the British is concerned about providing us with technical education and real vocational training — simply because our elected officials have not been making the case to the British government. So, if I am elected this would be one of my main concerns.
“Secondly, there is the question of health care for the elderly. There are people who refuse to go to the hospital simply because they do not have the money to pay for basic medical services. When it comes to medical treatment no one should be refused because they are unable to pay. And should I gain a seat in the House I would want to address these two issues in particular.”
Question 6: Are there any other concerns that you have while vying for office?
“Apart from education and health, one of my key concerns is Social Security Reform. This is high on my agenda. I do not believe that Social Security is meeting the needs of the people of Anguilla, even though they advertise that they are improving the quality of life for all. The monies are being paid into the Fund to ensure that the Fund is sustained, yes, but the people are not benefiting from the Fund when they need it.
“If a person has to work from the age of 18 to 60 and then has to wait for five years before getting any benefit from Social Security, it is redundant. Those five years are crucial years to the health and wellbeing of the individual. A normal life-span is ‘three score and ten’ years. If a person retires at sixty and has to go home and sit down for five years before getting a Social Security benefit, it does not serve the worker fairly. There is no need to work all those years and then wait so long on Social Security benefit. If I am elected I will seek to have the age of benefit payments reduced from 65 to 62 just as it is in the UK, in the US and in other islands of the region.”
Question 7: Should you secure a seat in the House of Assembly, which administration, out of the AUF and the APM, would you feel most comfortable working with?
(Mr. Richardson answered this question in a rather humorous manner.)
“Well, that question has been asked to me from day one. And I have always said to the people that if I should commit myself to a particular party, I would be committing political suicide. I am prepared to work with any group of elected officials who has Anguilla’s best interest at heart. The good thing about it is that we have four additional seats for those who are running at large.
“I love the APM as well as the AUF. However, I find the AUF has been quite silent in dealing with the issues, and they have not been transparent with the people. So, if I am working as a ‘transformer’ with an AUF team whose policy is silence, and if I am trying to ‘transmit’ government issues, then it is possible that my fuse might just blow every time.”
- Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
