By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribuemedia.net

PIA Glover-Rolle, the Progressive Liberal Party’s Golden Gates candidate, says her daughters inspired her transition to front line politics and try to meet the needs of constituents.

Mrs Glover-Rolle was among three women candidates who expressed confidence to The Tribune about securing victories in this week’s general election, hoping to bring new representation in their respective constituencies.

She, along with the Free National Movement’s Seabreeze candidate Maxine Seymour and Fontella Chipman Rolle, an independent candidate running for Fort Charlotte, said ultimately they bring change to the table, an element long sought after by voters.

“Honestly I decided to run because I was observing all that was going on in the country and I found myself saying ‘boy this needs to happen’ and ‘that needs to happen,’” the first-time candidate said.

“Interestingly when you enter politics you really need to have the support of your family and one of my children said to me ‘mommy you should go into politics so you could help them.’ I laughed, but you know what it made me think too because my daughters would tell me that every time you watch the news you have ideas of how things could be better, and you need to be a part of it.

“I wasn’t immediately moved because politics is a platform, yes, but I do what I do in terms of nation building in my personal and private life. I think every citizen could engage in nation building. You don’t have to do it through politics, but the worse things started to get the more I started to think about what they said,” Mrs Glover- Rolle said.

Before deciding to enter the fray, the political hopeful said she sought the advice of her bishop, people in the PLP and her family. The decision, she said, did not come lightly.

“It was a big leap,” she said. “I prayed a lot about it because as a woman you know politics is a dirty game. It’s cliché, but it’s true.

“Automatically you think about your family. When I enter there no one is going to be off limits, at least that’s how it seems.

“But I did it because I felt that my country needed me right now. I think we are at a critical point in our nation where a lot is going on and I don’t want to sound sexist, but it needs in some instances a woman’s touch.”

She continued: “As women our passion for family and community (and) our ability to multi-task, our decision-making skills, our ability to rise under pressure, all these things that we use in homemaking and family building are important for our community.

“Right now, especially when you hear citizens talk so much about hope and compassion. I mean a woman is a great catalyst for those things. Apart from being competent and capable and qualified, a woman brings to the table their compassion that our nation is crying out for, and our people are crying out for right now.”

For Mrs Seymour, her political walk is not about fitting in, but about making a difference. Motivated by female politicians who came before her, Mrs Seymour said she too is confident of a win on September 16.

“I think leadership is about making a difference and using your skill sets to help make the country better and move the country forward and also being an example and role model to little girls everywhere in the country,” Mrs Seymour said.

“That is to follow their dreams and aspire to greatness and so for me it’s not just about fitting in but it’s about making a difference.

“I feel confident that the people of Seabreeze are looking for the kind of representation that I can offer,” she also said. “The reality is that I can identify with them on many levels and what it is they go through. What it is they face, their goals, their dreams, their aspirations and I have managed to connect with them and to share in their vision and I really am confident that they will choose me as the best option to build a better Seabreeze.”

And although independent candidates are largely unsuccessful in general elections, Ms Chipman- Rolle said she believed she had a very good shot at becoming the next representative for the Fort Charlotte community.

For her, it’s about breaking the cycle of the “big boy system”.

“I don’t see myself as just a woman,” she said. “I see myself as someone who is capable of going out there and making a difference and as someone who has a voice.

“However, that is an important issue because we do have strong women, I believe that are present in the political arena. We know them. Like Glenys Hanna Martin. She is one that I truly admire.

“We have had women who have made their mark, but we seem to be oppressed by this big boy system as we call it.

“What we want now is not just to be present, we want to be actively present in positions that we can make decisions for our children,” Ms Chipman-Rolle said.