By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

SEEKING to defend his courtship of the Long Island constituency, Fort Charlotte MP Dr Andre Rollins yesterday accused area MP Loretta Butler-Turner of seeking to undermine him in his own constituency during her leadership campaign ahead of the Free National Movement’s national convention.

Dr Rollins alleged that Mrs Butler-Turner told his constituents that she intended to run party newcomer Mark Humes for the seat if she was elected as leader.

The disclosure came as Dr Rollins confirmed that he has been visiting Long Island in response to a substantial number of calls from residents for him to be their standard bearer in the upcoming election.

Underscoring the desire on the island for a new representative, he suggested that FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis was in a difficult position given his declaration at the party’s convention that Mrs Butler-Turner would receive the nomination.

“The reality is yes I’ve been visiting Long Island,” he said as a guest on radio talk show “Darrold Miller Live” with Darrold Miller.

Mr Miller had asked the outspoken Fort Charlotte MP to comment on Mrs Butler-Turner’s claim that he was campaigning in her constituency.

“I have a lot of family in Long Island,” he said in response. “I have a lot of people who have called me or expressed to me their interest in having me run for Long Island.

“But I will say this, I have never said it publicly but it is a reality that after I joined the FNM, Mrs Butler-Turner was taking Mark Humes around Fort Charlotte and telling persons that when she became the leader of the FNM, he was going to be her candidate for Fort Charlotte.

“So I think its very disingenuous of Mrs Butler-Turner to suggest that my visitation to Long Island is any less problematic than what she was actively pursuing in the area that I represent.”

Dr Rollins added: “I believe she needs to be open and honest about her role in trying to undermine me in my own constituency, and I never intended to undermine her in hers. But the fact is I’ve had people in Long Island asking me to come down there to be the FNM’s standard bearer for Long Island.

“But I understand the predicament that Dr Minnis finds himself in, and I recognise that notwithstanding all of the calls for a new representative or standard bearer from the FNM for that constituency, it would be rather difficult for Dr Minnis to do that especially considering what he has said publicly following the convention.”

Rumours that Mrs Butler-Turner does not hold the support of her constituency, and is under threat of being rejected as a standard bearer for the 2017 general election, have been widely circulated. However, Mrs Butler-Turner’s supporters on the island insist that her detractors are few, and that most of the controversy has been instigated by Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) agents.

In an interview with The Tribune earlier this month, former Long Island Constituency Association member Bernard Adderley confirmed that Dr Rollins had travelled to Long Island “several times this year, testing the waters” to see if “it made sense” for him to run there.

Mr Adderley said while he might have attracted some support, the people “do not want him.”

One FNM insider previously told The Tribune that although the party plans to give Mrs Butler-Turner the nomination, there has been heavy consideration to support an independent run by BTC manager Ian Knowles. Mr Knowles is said to be a strong favourite on the island. However, the source said there was uncertainty over whether Mr Knowles would run against Dr Rollins, who is a cousin.