By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE efforts Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner has made to rebuild her island following Hurricane Joaquin “absolutely” demonstrates the kind of “strong, dedicated leadership” of which the country needs more.

Former Free National Movement Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson praised Mrs Butler-Turner on Friday night at a fundraiser she held to raise money for the devastated island.

At a time when her future remains a source of political debate in the country, Mrs Butler-Turner mobilised her network to raise more than $55,000 at the fundraiser, which also celebrated her 55th birthday. Organisers have said the funds raised are also earmarked for Crooked Island and Acklins, which were also hard hit by the category four storm in October.

“She has done a wonderful job pulling many different groups together in a way that is very constructive and very efficient, delivering goods to the island in the very early stages,” Mr Watson, who served during a previous Hubert Ingraham administration, said.

FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis did not attend the event at John Watling’s Distillery in downtown Nassau but many other party members and supporters did, including Mr Watson, former Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes, former FNM Leader Tommy Turnquest, former Cabinet minister Janet Bostwick, former Attorney General John Delaney, former FNM senators Dr Duane Sands and Heather Hunt, Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn, Central Grand Bahama MP Neko Grant and St Anne’s MP Hubert Chipman.

US Chargé d’Affaires Lisa Johnson also attended the event, which organisers said drew 500 people.

Mrs Butler-Turner told attendees she “didn’t want to make this a political event,” but some in attendance were not silent about their aspirations for her, clearly viewing her efforts to galvanise donors and rebuild Long Island as a sign of her leadership potential.

“I believe one day she will be prime minister of this great country,” said David Wallace, a former FNM candidate for Grand Bahama and the moderator of the event.

“Sometimes the best man for the job is a woman,” he added.

A woman identified to The Tribune as Sandra, who worked on Mrs Butler-Turner’s campaign in 2012, was even more specific, saying the Long Island MP will be “the country’s next prime minister.”

When reminded that Mrs Butler-Turner hasn’t declared an intention to seek the leadership of the FNM once again, she said: “I’ll refrain my comment (on) that for right now. All I can tell you is stay tuned.”

One man said: “I’m here to support my girl Loretta Butler-Turner.”

And without being prompted with a question he added: “Hubert Minnis is not the one.”

However, Mr Watson dismissed talk of politics, saying: “Politicians can’t do anything (without someone thinking) that there is an ulterior motive behind it, but that’s the way people are. I just dismiss it.”

Mrs Butler-Turner tried to stay clear of the issue, focusing squarely on Long Island’s recovery efforts.

Dressed in a shimmering gown, she told The Tribune: “Being on the ground (in Long Island after Hurricane Joaquin) from day one, one of the things we were able to do is galvanise a huge amount of support from civil society, corporate society and interested individuals and it was through that method we saw we were able to get a lot of things accomplished.

“Over the past few months, we’ve noticed that once people start to move away from the actual event they tend to not remember it as well so here we are three months out; if we could continue to build on the support of all the donors that made a lot of the restorative and rebuilding work happen, we just want to make sure we bring focus back to that now that the holiday season is over.”

Nonetheless, when asked, she made it clear she had no problem with people supporting her way of doing things and seeing it as the “way forward for our country.”

“The one underlying denominator that we all have is that we are all Bahamians,” she said. “We are people who live here and love our Bahamas so for me I think when you talk about having a paradigm shift in how we develop our country, we’ve got to be able to have people who are able to bring together the best minds, wherever they are, the best potential and best resources. And I think if there are people who are willing to support me and continue to be galvanised with my efforts then I think that certainly is the way forward for our country.

“We’ve been too divisive in the way we conduct ourselves, whether in government or outside government. I am one person that has a passion for my constituents. If that passion can be infectious then I think we will be able to forge our way forward out of a lot of social and economic issues we have because it clearly demonstrates that people are willing to support something that they think is worthwhile, that they can say ‘I’m a part of that. I’m making decisions,’ it’s not something whereby one person is calling the shots.”

Mrs Butler-Turner lost her bid to unseat Dr Minnis as leader of the FNM at the party’s convention in 2014.