Mr. Jose Vanterpool, who distinguished himself as being the youngest Anguillian to serve as a Member of the House of Assembly, and with much potential as a parliamentarian, is now hoping to submit draft legislation to the Assembly.
He made the disclosure at the First Session of the Twelfth House of Assembly on July 17. That was when he, and other newly-elected Members, were sworn-in following the June 29 General Elections.
Mr. Vanterpool, a Member of the Anguilla United Front Opposition, said in the Assembly to the Government representatives: “As Members of the Opposition, our job is not to oppose for opposing sake. Our job is not to get in your way because any Government should be allowed the mandate to govern. That is your job. Our job, as Opposition Members, is to provide the checks and balances for the accountability, transparency and the oversight necessary to ensure that you do your job to the best of your ability – and have the confidence of the people of Anguilla. With that being said, you, like many other candidates, campaigned on transparency, accountability and oversight.”
He continued: “I am confident that my team, under the guidance of the Leader of the Opposition, the Honourable Cora Richardson-Hodge, is here to serve the people of Anguilla in that oversight and scrutiny capacity. We look forward to working with you – not against you – to provide the best representation to the people of Anguilla.
“Madam Speaker, as you accurately stated, all Elected Members have three basic functions to their constituents and to the people of Anguilla: the function of representation; the function of legislation; and the function of oversight.
“When I was here, in my capacity as a Nominated Member, I did not exercise the right to legislate. That is because I was not given that mandate by the people of Anguilla. This time, around, is different. I fully intend to use my capacity as a legislator to put forward legislation – and to work along with the governing side to ensure that the legislation, as brought forth to the people of Anguilla, is in their best interest.
“As elected representatives, we have two roles: to represent as delegates and to represent as trustees. To represent as a trustee means that the people of Anguilla have invested their confidence in all of us, as elected representatives, to be able to make decisions on their behalf. As representatives and delegates, we are here to be the voices of the people of Anguilla.
“Madam Speaker, I would like to take this time to assure the people of Anguilla – that all of them who voted for me and did not vote for me – that in my capacity as an Island-wide Member, I am here to represent all of them. I am your servant and I am here to do your work. So it doesn’t matter which side you are on –whether you supported me or not – I am here to support the people of Anguilla.”
Mr. Vanterpool was recently trained in parliamentary practice at McGill University in Canada with the involvement of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA). One of the goals of the CPA is to support legislators in putting forward private Member Bills in the legislature.
The submission of private Member Bills was one of the subject areas during this week’s Post-Election Seminar in Anguilla, conducted by the CPA via Zoom video-conferencing.
During the previous Anguilla United Front Government, Mr. Vanterpool served as First Nominated Member and Deputy Speaker from age 24.
He is an Island Scholar and holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Bristol.
Mr. Vanterpool concluded his statement in the House of Assembly with a note of gratitude. “I would like to make special mention of our past Premier, the Honourable Mr. Victor Franklin Banks,” he stated. “Without him and his administration, I would not have been able to be exposed to politics by my appointment as First Nominated Member in the previous House of Assembly. It is that introduction to politics that has led the people of Anguilla to see something in me; and it is to run for election.” Mr. Vanterpool was an Island-wide candidate and secured a total of 2,983 votes second only to Mr. Kyle Hodge, of the Anguilla Progressive Movement, who scored a total of 3,557 votes.
