Craig Butler - treasurer of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), resigned from his post and the opposition party

PLP treasurer resigns


BRENT DEAN
NG Deputy News Editor
thenassauguardian
brentldean@nasguard.com



Craig Butler, treasurer of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), resigned yesterday from his post and the opposition party and vowed to run as a candidate in the Kennedy constituency at the next general election.

“It should come as no surprise to political observers that I've grown disillusioned with this once great political organization, the PLP, to which my grandfather (Sir Milo Butler) dedicated and fought so diligently to secure our Bahamas,” said Butler at Rawson Square near the bust of his grandfather.

“I too joined the ranks feeling compelled to walk in his great footsteps and wanting to give of myself unselfishly as he so freely did. After a period of prayer, deep reflection and contemplation I have reached the end of my journey and today I sever all ties with the PLP.”

Butler, an attorney, was denied the PLP nomination to run as a candidate in the Elizabeth by-election in February 2010. He was again denied the PLP nomination to run as the party’s candidate in Kennedy at the next general election. Attorney Dion Smith received the nomination.

On the Star 106.5 FM radio talk show ‘Jeffrey’ with host Jeffrey Lloyd, Butler confirmed his candidacy for Kennedy in some form. This could be as an independent candidate or aligned with a political organization.

Butler has said that PLP leader Perry Christie has told him he will not get a nomination from the party.

Butler has also publicly acknowledged that he had a drug problem in the past, one he has overcome. In 2008, he was charged with causing harm to his wife Terrel, who is also an attorney. The matter was later dropped.

Butler, however, has argued that he deserves a ‘second chance’ similar to that given to others in the PLP who have made errors in the past.

“The measure of my character is filled with lifelong lessons and though my journey has been one with tremendous setbacks, it is precisely these lessons that have made me who I am today. I possess an indomitable spirit that has afforded me the opportunity to understand and appreciate the struggles of the down trodden and the marginalized,” said Butler.

He described the current PLP as, “not the organization for which Milo Butler so proudly and diligently fought for.”

Butler’s grandfather Sir Milo was the first Bahamian governor general. Craig Butler is also the brother of Free National Movement (FNM) Cabinet Minister and Montagu Member of Parliament Loretta Butler-Turner.

“As an offspring of Sir Milo Butler I found it impossible to sit idly by and allow others to dictate what my future should be,” he said.

“I wish to no longer be a spectator but an active participant in helping to formulate policies and solutions for our nation’s challenges, its growth and development, a Bahamas that would allow future generations to fulfill their dreams and aspirations.”

Butler became the PLP’s treasurer at the party’s convention in October 2009. In September 2009, the PLP treasurer before Butler, Sidney Cambridge, also resigned after he was charged by the government of the United States with money laundering.

Jun 02, 2011

thenassauguardian