‘Don’t be distracted by the naysayers!’ – VIP Pres. Carvin Malone
“We have a tendency as Virgin Islands Party supporters to split our votes. So whenever a new person comes along we talking about splitting it here and splitting it there,” noted Mr. Malone.
“If we want to win the elections of 2015-2016 then we have to register more voters, we have to take the voter out to the poll and we cannot be distracted,” he told those who turned up for the meeting which was held at the Abraham Leonard Community Centre.
Noting that there is yet a lot of work to be done as it relates to being ready for the upcoming elections which the party insists that they must win, Mr. Malone said that he has had the privilege of sitting within the party between 2003 – 2008 during which he has come to the realization that in order to run an election there must be different categories of members.
“There are members who would pledge their support not only financially but in terms of the resource persons that are required to get this job done. As we move from District to District, area to area, it’s not just to inform you because most of it you may well know but both the Chairman and Hon Fahie will tell you that unless you keep reminding voters you would end up feeling bad,” he noted.
He said that in the process of preparing for the elections and the years that follow consequent of the outcome the party has to look at building new economic opportunities and industries from which members can participate. “Each of the committees that we have must get assistance from each of the Districts and we are going to put this in full gear,” he explained.
In getting to a state of readiness for the upcoming elections VIP President Malone stressed the urgency in the party tapping into the pool of potential new voters and even those who would have been misled during the elections of 2011 resulting in them giving their votes to the other party or not voting at all.
“The fact is when I look at the preliminary list of voters … for the 1st District when you look at the registered voters there we have a minus two in terms of net voters, two less voters registered. In the 2nd District 14 less registered voters, 9 in the 3rd, 29 less in the 4th, 19 less in the 5th, 7 less in the 6th, 4 less in the 8th. Somebody is doing some work in the 9th because we have 29 voters added to the registered list,” he outlined as he went through the current list of registered voters.
He stressed that it matters not where in the world the legitimate voters are it is important that they are reached and encouraged to register on elections day. “GOTV – Get Out The Voters, take them to the polls. You cannot win elections unless you have more votes than the other person,” he said.
He complimented the 1st District for a job well done so far but cautioned that they keep at the job, “Because there are other groups, other organizations who are intent, not because they can win but because they can split the votes.”
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9 Responses to “‘Don’t be distracted by the naysayers!’ – VIP Pres. Carvin Malone”
suggestions:
1) Fund-raising: Instead of begging for nickles and dimes which is unprofessional, start with holding open house parties in each district. Have a VIP official or sponsor there to find out what the districts' issues are and pass them on-- and ask for donations privately. This is more discreet and gets people involved.
2) "Get out the vote" registration can be gotten at lunch time around town, or at events where people gather. But it has to be fair and objective. Not intimidating voters to one party or another. Just get them signed up.
3) Speeches: keep positive. Say what VIP envisions and how to do it. Don't blame or name-call which is childish. Keep professional, stick to issues. Give people space. They want to be involved in their future, but want to make up their own minds, not shamed into doing so. promote stances, reasoning and issues.
4) offer rides to the elderly and those without transportation to the polls. Some don't vote because they can't get there.
5) organize, organize, organize