Senatorial By-election candidates

[Deputy Dawg]

As of today 26th April we have 2 candidates for the position of Senator for the next 18 months (not including Mr Syvret in case he is not allowed to run).

We have one of the occasional contributors on here Gino Risoli who I hope is not going to go on about transparancy being the elixir for everything evil under the sun. I did read that he believed that Jersey can beat this recession and come out of it making money, but I have not heard how he will do it. Please Gino, if you are reading, let us in on the secret.

We also have Deputy Southern who is running on purely for self gratification. He won't get any more money, he won't get appointed to boards or get a position in the states that can do any good, and he won't be in for any longer than he already is, BUT he will be called SENATOR instead of that plebian DEPUTY and people will have to look up to him and give him preferential treatement don't you think? Not that he is doing this for himself mind you, he is doing it for, erm let me make up something that sounds infalable, erm, er, he is doing this for democracy and to get an Island mandate, yes, that will do, no one will see through that to the fact that it is purely to be called a senator.

Please lord, let there be more candidates...

[ole razzy]

I dont think Syvret will stand. He's probably left it too late. The by-election is in 6 weeks. If he walked back into Jersey today I reckon they would put him on remand for a week or two then convict and maybe give him another two weeks at La Moye thus effectively wrecking his ability to run an effective campaign. There's also another school of thought emerging which believes he wont come back for this by-election but will run in the senatorial's in 18 months time after the dust has settled. Regardless he wont stop blogging and will be back one day.

Geoff Southern has said that if Syvret returns to Jersey and is allowed to stand he will withdraw from the race. Given what I've already said I think Southern will run and may receive another challenge from Rod Bryans who will doubtless use the opportunity to bring up the election fraud conviction issue. If Southern won, (yeah I know this is strecthing it a little now) then that would create another by-election in St. Helier no 2 and Bryans could be interested in running again there. Question there would be who would the JDA field?   

[ole razzy]

I just read in the JEP that Mike Vibert is 'considering' if he will stand as is De Faye. I find that truly amazing. Truly I do. Do either of these people not recognise that their political careers crashed and burned around them because of the perception that both were totally and utterly incompetent, brash old school style bully boy bastards? Are they really that dim? Es Spiritus Sancti!

And this quote from Mike Vibert really made spit the mid afternoon claret over the Constantin Brancusi bronze.

"It would be wrong to dismiss it out of hand because a number of people have asked me to consider it"

"I don't just mean my friends, but people who I see at the supermarket, which is very flattering"

I have not come to any conclusion yet".

How anybody is supposed to believe that total strangers walk up to Mike Vibert supermarkets and tell him what decent guy he is and how they really think he should stand? That would just never happen! The guy is surely deluded?

[man in the street]

i hope that others stand, i will use my vote to see that(hope), the failed ones do not get in(hope)
i didnt want a bus to go on the piss anyway, and dont like cash been used to prop up a swimming pool.
 how could any one vote for a bloke who shot puffin?
do we have to register to vote again??

[en830]

So far with the calibre of the opposition, Southern is going to walk this 

[ole razzy]

So far with the calibre of the opposition, Southern is going to walk this 

You'll have to buy him a chinese take out and a cuban cigar if he does!

[en830]

I don't smoke and won't encourage others. Chinese is full of MSG which is banned in several states in the US as a toxin, so as much as I don't like his politics, I wouldn't go as far as poisoning him.

At present Southern's up against an unemployed chap who's no ones ever heard of, and Gino, who, unless he comes up with a few more policies other than "transparency in the States" is going to be dead in the water (Sorry Gino).

[Deputy Dawg]

I hope ole razzy is correct and that Rod Bryant is standing. Without someone with some credibility, it is going to be difficult to pull myself to the polling station unless there is a "none of the above" vote for those that have so far said they would stand.

They should change the law to have a none of the above, I bet they would be very surprised by the results, and possibly very few would be in next time.

[ole razzy]

Although Mike Vibert says he has not yet made a decision to stand he's been on the radio quite a bit of late blowing his own horn.

Deputy Dawg I am glad that you feel that you feel unable to cast a vote for any of the declared candidates (or those like Vibert who are hedging their bets until the AG makes his proclamation regarding Syvret's elligability or otherwise) and I take it from what you say that would incluse Mike Vibert also.

Here are some more reasons (courtesy of Tony's musings) for overlooking the ginger beard should he come out and make his intentions plain;

1) Attended a signing ceremony (and no doubt meal, and overnight stay) for a Protocol Agreement between Jersey and the Department de la Manche in Paris - after he had lost his seat in the Senatorial Elections. One of the "Yes Minister" small "pared to the bone" contingent that went.

2) Went to the Commonwealth Games in Australia and apparently justified the trip on the grounds that it tied in with looking into the feasibility of sending Jersey students to study in Australia and New Zealand because the course fees were cheaper than the UK - but not the £2,000 per annum air travel costs.

3) Spoke up for free parking for the States.

4) Spoke up for longer lunch hours between States sittings

5) Tried to suppress the complete version of the Kathy Bull report being given to the JEP. No doubt "edited" highlights would have been released later.

6) Managed to get extra funding for free places in States nurseries for parents during the summer just before the election. And virtually led to the demise of private nursery care, which couldn't compete any longer, and was providing a service at much less cost to the tax payer.

7) Told me that if fireworks let off at random (in November) were extremely distressing to my autistic son, then I should ring the Constable or the Deputies because he was now a Senator. And there I was thinking that Senators had an Island wide mandate!