BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – MARCELLA LIBURD was launched as the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) candidate for Constituency Number Two in May 2008. Less than a month later, she hired Labour stalwart and Central Basseterre resident Sydney Bridgewater as her Campaign Manager.
Born on July 17, 1953, Bridgewater has always been a McKnight resident. After working at the C.A. Paul Southwell Industrial Site for 26 years, he became an employee of the St. Kitts Trades and Labour Union (SKTLU), and is currently its First Vice-President.
Bridgewater’s political activity has spanned three SKNLP candidates and three decades of general elections. In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes, he gave insight into the motivation behind his involvement.
“When you look at life and you see your people struggling, you want to help them to excel. I wanted to help the common man succeed…I guess you could say it’s in my genes. I’ve always been affiliated with the Labour Party.
“I’ve been campaigning and canvassing with the SKNLP candidates since the 1970s. It started with Anthony Riberio, then Errol Maynard to the present representative Hon. Dwyer Astaphan and now with the new candidate, Marcella Liburd.”
After leading Astaphan through a successful re-election campaign in 2004, Bridgewater said he “automatically” accepted the position as Liburd’s Campaign Manager. As head of her management team, his job includes organising political rallies and formulating election tactics.
“I strategise and organise her campaign. I help plan the course of action. Additionally, I accompany her during her constituency visits. We go to each household to hear their concerns. We don’t pass some up because they may have a different political point of view,” Bridgewater explained.
The McKnight resident was optimistic about Liburd’s chances, despite opposition claims and naysayers. He divulged that, so far, the campaign is “fantastic” and that he and his team had received lots of positive support from the public.
“I am completely confident of a victory. At an opposition meeting, they said statistics show that their candidate would win 70 percent. Not even Dwyer won by 70 percent. I don’t know where they got those figures from.”
He added, “Marcella is a strong person. She comes from a Labour background and is used to organising things on a national level – teaching, netball, and etcetera. She’s a more ideal person for the situation than the opposition is bringing.”
According to Liburd, Bridgewater was chosen due to his “vast political experience” and status in the McKnight community. She noted her pleasure with the job he was doing for her, a sentiment that Astaphan echoed.
“Sydney was an integral part of my campaign team for all the years that I was a candidate. He is a true and tested servant of the McKnight community, and he is a hard-working, decent and dedicated individual,” said the Constituency Representative.
“He is also a respected trade unionist. I was exceedingly satisfied with the job he did for me.”
