Jonathan Smith Joins PLP Family
This week, the party welcomed Jonathan Smith, Bermuda's police commissioner from 2000-2005, into the PLP family. When it comes to crime and other pressing issues facing our society, we need urgent action. Jonathan made the call:
There comes a time when we must move from the big conversation to action. The political landscape continues to evolve and Bermudians are waking to the fact that we must move forward together towards political maturity and face the challenges as one country, one Bermuda.
After an entire career of serving the people in law enforcement and for the past three years being immersed in business, the lure of public service was too great to resist. Since my retirement from policing, I have been encouraged by many people to get involved in politics. Until now, I’ve resisted approaches from both main political parties to serve.
Mr. Smith also confronted the great challenge of racial equality.
Bermuda is a better place when the status quo is challenged. Race has been Bermuda’s Berlin Wall. Some choose to sit on the wall; some cower behind it; some hold it up. I’m convinced that the majority of Bermudians have chosen to knock it down. In knocking it down, all must play a part in building the foundation for the future. We simply cannot keep doing things the way we have always done. Future generations of black Bermudians and white Bermudians, indeed all Bermudians, deserve so much more than the legacy of what we’ve been left. It’s up to all of us to play our part, to forge that way forward. When history looks back we’ll take great comfort if it describes that we paved the way, that we put Bermuda first.
Personally, I subscribe to the view that Bermuda’s best years are in front of us. It is so much more fruitful to spend time on the dreams of the future rather than the history of the past. I’ve joined the Progressive Labour Party. Several things are clear to me in making this decision: Bermuda must come first. I’m committed to a path of reform, modernization, social justice and expansion of the economic opportunities for all Bermudians laid out by the Progressive Labour Party. Politics must be about the people. Politics also presents choices for us as voters and as citizens of the country we love. We need to refuse to be corralled by the politics of the past which virtually determined where the X in the ballot box would go. There is so much more which binds us together than keeps us apart. In making this choice, I’m very optimistic about the journey we face.
But, it is much more than just about race. We stand at particularly difficult crossroads in time and to the extent that any Bermudian can help - all Bermudians should help and choose the vehicle they believe best enables them or empowers them to contribute to Bermuda’s future. We have much work to do together on the many strategic issues facing the country and I’m pleased to lend my support to that effort.
Today, more than ever, we need to come together as a society to improve our economy, create opportunities and crack down on crime. Now is the time for unity. Now is the time to come together as one Bermuda. Now is the time for action.
The Throne Speech outlined a comprehensive plan of action. Let's put the political games aside, focus on what unites us and work together to build a better Bermuda.
