Former Speaker of the House of Assembly Julian Willock has hinted at potentially running in the next General Election, stating that there is a consensus among some residents across the territory who believe he can contribute meaningfully to local politics.
Willock shared those views during his recent guest appearance on CARIBupdate Exclusives after being asked by host Tahir Burke whether he will be contesting in the upcoming election.
He said as an active Virgin Islands Party (VIP) member he has not yet decided on whether he will be running as yet, but confirmed that he has a committee established to provide ideas on a way forward.
“Well part of my listening to, as I talked to you about earlier, that there have been many people throughout the country from Anegada to Jost Van Dyke, to Virgin Gorda and the main island of Tortola have asked me to run and think that I can make a meaningful contribution. I have not declared anything yet. As of today, I’m a Virgin Islands Party member and I will continue to be that until things change, not predicting a change, but one never knows in this political arena. So I have not declared yet, but I will say, in terms of transparency, I do have a committee set up and I’ve been listening keenly to their ideas,” he stated.
Earlier in the interview, Willock said he has been touring the territory to get the views of some residents on several topical issues.
He said, “I have been doing some tours around the country including to our sister Islands, listening to the residents of the territory in terms of what they want to see after the next general election, their thoughts about the Commission of Inquiry, their hopes, their aspirations, their suffering. So I’ve been on a quiet listening tour and I’ve been able to gather a lot of information that we need a new direction in the Virgin Islands.”
Next election should be based on ideas and solutions
To be a solid contestant in the upcoming election, the former speaker believes that candidates should approach their campaigns with reasonable ideas and solutions and not criticism.
“One of the things I want to say and I’ve said this earlier in another interview and I’ll say it today, that the next election must be based on ideas, solutions and not just criticism. So anybody coming before the people of this territory, the people of the Virgin Islands, ought to tell them how are they going to make their life better? What are you going to do differently? What you’re going to do to raise revenues? What are you going to do to scale back at some of those laws and regulations that have stifled growth? What are you going to do to ensure that the private sector is properly facilitated, notwithstanding the rules and regulation? So those are the things that I want to get,” he explained.
Willock to push for airport expansion
Willock also disclosed that he will be pushing for a number of initiatives, including the expansion of the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport on Beef Island.
He said, “One of things for example, that I will be championing if a decision is made to enter political office is the airport, our Terrance B Lettsome International. The runway needs to be expanded which will go a far way in helping our tourism sector and also our airlift where we can have direct flights from New York, London, Miami etcetera. So that is one of the things I’ll be championing.”
“Again, If I decide to run, another thing that I’ll be championing is that we need to come up with realistic ideas about revenue. The government is not a bottomless pit in terms of funds. We have to understand that we have to come up with creative ways of raising revenue so we can sustain our public service, so we can sustain our school our social development etcetera, because I have concluded at the end of the day, whether you VIP, NDP, PPP, whatever P you are, all of us in this territory want the same thing. We want good roads, we want good infrastructure, we want our sewage system fix, we want to feel safe, we want good health care, we want to be able to take our family on a vacation and want to make sure that we leave a life for our children better off than we have experienced,” Willock further expressed.
This will not be Willock’s first attempt to run for political office as he first sought to run under the Virgin Islands Party as an At-Large Representative in 2018.
However, that dream was short lived, as he missed out on the opportunity after losing by just four votes in a VIP internal poll.