Collectivity elections : Daniel Gibbs announced his candidacy
In a letter written in both French and English that was addressed to the population and sent to the medias, Daniel Gibbs announced that he will head the list of L’Union pour la Démocratie (UD), his party. A commitment which comes to no surprise, but is now official.
Involved in politics since 2001, Daniel Gibbs has already presented himself as the head of the list in 2012 and lost against Alain Richardson. However, he defeated Guillaume Arnell in the legislative elections in June of the same year.
The presidency of the collectivité has always been his objective; he has never denied it. "What interests me is my territory", he repeated several times, thereby hinting that he would not seek a second term as deputy in June 2017 if he is elected president three months earlier, according to the law which prohibits the accumulation of mandates.
Daniel Gibbs has been getting ready for this for several years. Within the UD, he is surrounded by new people. He has recruited a political communications adviser. He has started using the new tools of communication: website revision, a mobile application and a newsletter. He has reinforced his presence on the social networks. When he takes the floor during an event, tweets are posted online. He has created a “youth” session within his group.
Since 2012, Daniel Gibbs has made headway. He’s more at ease. He admits it. His mandate as deputy has indeed allowed him to acquire skills and knowledge, particularly on institutional workings. "The sincerity of my political action and the diversity of my experiences at the service of our community since 2001 have fueled, year after year after year, the vision that drives my commitment today", he wrote in his letter and he now believes that the “time” is now. “I am running for the presidency of our Collectivité because the time is now”, he declared. We should understand by that that it’s time to be elected, since he has already been a candidate.
However, he says that it’s not yet time to present his fellow candidates. Some names will be revealed in September at a large gathering as well as his program. A program that he has been working on with his teams and experts during his encounters with the population. “In cooperation”, he likes to say.
"It is a major project, for an island that’s anything but ordinary, which deserves innovative and modern ideas in order to best spread its influence in a difficult context of global competition which jeopardizes our jobs and prosperity. This project was built step-by-step based on what you’ve told me, your needs and your proposals. I will continue our neighborhood meetings during these next few weeks in order to give life to this project, until its public presentation which is scheduled in September", he announced in his letter.
For the moment, Daniel Gibbs is the only one with Jules Charville to be officially running for the 2017 elections.
