Date: Wednesday, 19 March 2025
Candidates
- Alva Suckoo (PPM)
- Raul Gonzalez Jr. (IND)
- Wayne Panton* (TCCP)
*incumbent
The first showdown between career politician Wayne Panton, former politician Alva Suckoo, and Raul Gonzalez Jr., who is making his third attempt in the political race, was closely watched by the voting population in Newlands on Wednesday night. Each candidate taking part in the Chamber of Commerce election debate outlined their decision to run in the 2025 election, citing priorities including housing, employment, healthcare, cost of living, impacts on quality of life, traffic and education.
Key issues
National Conservation Council powers
Having supported the National Conservation Act during his term, Suckoo said people have to believe in conservation and also live it.
Suckoo suggested looking at the act entirely, to have the legal experts “look at it and see whether or not changes are really required at this point in time, but cautiously because while we want to keep our people happy, we want to keep development going, we also want to preserve for future generations”.
Gonzalez took the position that the council has too much power.
“I think the executive power should be at Cabinet. And why I say this is because there has to be a balance. I agree in conservation. I agree, and we’ve got to preserve land and so forth, right? But not at expense of our people, the way it is now,” Gonzalez said.
“We need to get together and get it reformed and tweaked out completely. I’m not saying to cut it out completely, but reform it.”
With a bit more passion in his voice, Panton said, the premise that is being argued that the council has too much power is “just completely and wholly inaccurate”.
“I wouldn’t reform the council’s role at all. I think personally that the council’s role needs to be strengthened a little bit,” Panton said.
“I’m in favour of sustainable development but not rampant development.”
He added, “I think the way they’ve approached it, with proposed amendments to the law, has been driven by special interests, and they have gone ahead and made certain other changes. Nothing against the individuals, but that, again, is just an attempt to cater to certain special interests.”
Annual quotas to control permanent immigration to the Cayman Islands
Panton said while there is no fixed view on a quota approach, he would err on the side of Caymanians.
“It is beyond doubt that our people feel that the numbers of people getting PR and Caymanian status is unsustainable,” Panton said.
“I want them to feel that they’re comfortable with the changes going on in their own country … I am prepared to work with the relevant stakeholders to understand where we should put a quota and how much it should be because we need to make sure that our own people feel comfortable with what’s happening in their own country.”
Suckoo took the view that the issue should begin with those who apply for permanent residency.
“Look at the points system in particular … What I’d like to see is [taking] away some of those financial elements, carefully … focus more on how much did you assimilate in this country … How much did you teach a Caymanian at university, while you were CEO of this company? How much did you embrace Cayman culture? How much do you demonstrate that you are willing to be part of this society?” he said.
Gonzalez suggested a moratorium, “to assess and reform that whole process of how they’re attaining that … Caymanians need to be at the forefront, need to be sitting at the table.”
Ageing population, pension support
All three candidates agreed pensions should be a national priority.
Gonzalez noted pensions need to be revamped.
“Bring our pension back here, invest it in our country … invest it back into the people too,” Gonzalez said.
“I’m proposing people to get more access to their pension in order to pay off their homes and whatever debts they got in medical and so forth and bring it back here. Invest it back.”
Panton did not stray much from his independent colleague’s position, believing that it is a national priority.
“We need to face the fact now that we need to address national pension reform, otherwise the system is achieving nothing, nothing whatsoever,” Panton said.
“The reality is, we’re going to have to take a phased approach to try to reform pensions so that we end up with strong pension accounts, more contributions, so that our people can have better, more stable retirement. It’s not an easy thing to deal with, but we have to face that fact, and the employers need to be contributing more.”
Suckoo noted pension reliance is not just a national priority but a “national emergency”.
For the elderly, he suggested creating “a sovereign fund” that can take care of them for “they’re going to have health emergencies, cost-of-living issues. Some are not going to have family to support them, so let’s have a fund that government contributes to, and maybe private sector contributes to at least take care of that segment of our population for the rest of their natural lives.”
Cruise berthing facility
Panton noted his position, consistent with his colleagues in the TCCP, is not in favour of constructing a cruise berthing facility in George Town.
He noted, there are “tremendous” concerns and costs, and the economic benefits “may not be realistic”.
He noted, “One of the issues we have is that we do not have enough data in relation to it. … “I think that if you’re taking a sustainable approach to anything, you need to be able to understand whether it is worth the damage that is being done, whether the cost of it is justified by the outcomes that you’re going to get from it. And I think our concern at the moment is that there’s an insufficient indication of exactly what those benefits are likely to be and what the costs are likely to be and what benefits we are going to get overall from having a cruise berthing facility.”
He mentioned the possibility that one could be built somewhere outside of George Town and questioned if “the consequences could be less”.
“That is something that we could discuss. But the feelings at this point, and I think talking to constituents, the view is that they’re not in favour of a cruise facility in George Town.”
Suckoo said he would always take a safe approach.
“I would have to be guided by the will of the people on [the referendum],” he said.
“I always said that if there was a safe way where we wouldn’t risk Seven Mile Beach, where we wouldn’t risk our natural resources environment, I would support it because I do see some benefit. … We do have a lot of Caymanians employed in the cruise industry and who depend on it.”
Suckoo noted another difficulty.
“When you remove that contribution to our economy, you’re going to have to replace it with something. Most likely we will try to replace it with stayover, which then means … we have to build more hotels, more room stock. So you might be trading one bad thing for another in terms of development, over development. So we have to be careful,” Suckoo said.
Gonzalez said, “We should be thinking about safe harbour all year round” and suggested “moving East where it’s going to be less impact”.
“Join the quarries and make a safe harbour. Do a public-private partnership with the cruise industry and fuel companies and with port. We gotta be thinking 100 years down the road, not just four years, every election,” Gonzalez said.
Standout moments
Panton said he is very proud of what has been accomplished in Newlands, citing several key initiatives alongside his colleague and Savannah incumbent Heather Bodden, including creating communication groups, events, improved roads, renovating four major parks, and traffic-control mechanisms.
“We have done a lot … Thank you for the opportunity to serve, and I look to serve far more in the future,” Panton said.
In deciding the future of the country, Suckoo noted it is not about choosing an MP, but rather about choosing the direction that Cayman will go moving forward.
While not in office, Suckoo said he was there in the community for the past four years and is aware of the issues.
“I am with the party, the PPM and we have a plan,” Suckoo said.
“I am with a proven, stable government. I will have the force and the support of individuals who are working on the same agenda, the same vision as me going forward, and I think, in partnership with my colleagues in the PPM, we will accomplish a lot to this country. This country is now depending on us to move it forward, to take it out of the doldrums, to fix the issues, to help the people, uplift the people, and that is why I am putting myself forward.”
Gonzalez said it was time for action and emphasised putting Caymanians first and at the forefront, pledging for the district to be the decision-makers with him.
“I am going to form a district council. I’m going to have two committees, the national committee to deal with national issues and in the community to deal with the community issues,” Gonzalez said.
While noting the efforts Panton made to get a park constructed in the district, Gonzalez questioned, “Where’s the restrooms? Where’s the WiFi for the people who are working from home remotely to go out there? Where’s the security cameras to keep children safe and keep bad elements out of the parks? …
“It’s time to break all those broken promises. We can’t go another four years. I am one of you. I’m feeling the same things you’re feeling. I’m going through the same struggles you’re going through, but together, we can break this cycle.”
The next Chamber of Commerce forum, held on Thursday, 20 March, will feature the candidates from Red Bay.
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