Summary

• The FNM has named former NBA champion and actor Rick Fox as its candidate for Garden Hills ahead of the next general election, expected in September.
• Fox said both the FNM and PLP courted him, but he is backing FNM leader Michael Pintard’s vision and says he is “not an outsider.”
• Pintard said an FNM government would lead with humility and transparency, while Prime Minister Phillip Davis has not yet announced an election date.

 

NASSAU, BAHAMAS  – The main opposition Free National Movement (FNM) has named former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Rick Fox as a candidate for the next general election, expected in September.

Fox, 56, a three-time champion with the Los Angeles Lakers who also played for the Boston Celtics, was among 12 candidates named by the FNM on Tuesday night. The party is now two candidates short of a full slate to contest the 41 seats in the House of Assembly.

The former NBA star and actor will contest the Garden Hills constituency. FNM Leader and Opposition Leader Michael Pintard told supporters, “We are in the home stretch now.”

Fox had previously said he would decide whether to align himself with a political party, while also hinting at the possibility of running as an independent candidate.

He said both the FNM and the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) had courted him. Speaking at the party’s headquarters on Tuesday night, Fox said he shared Pintard’s vision for the FNM.

“There are a multitude of areas I think I could have reached out and done a really good job in. I voiced publicly where I have residence. … I thought I could do good work there.

“As I continued to work with the leader and continued to work with the party and to look at the strategy that is in place to move forward to win the government, it’s not about me and where I want to serve; it’s about where we, as a group, could serve the country the best,” Fox said, responding to critics who have regarded him as an outsider.

“I never left home. I went to work and I went to school. My family lives here. I live here. My whole life exists here,” he added.

Pintard told the meeting that, if elected, his administration would serve with humility.

“We care about this country and its future. We will open up every book once we are elected, so you can see what is behind the decisions that this government has made. We will serve you every day—not with arrogance, but with humility. We will not be traveling around the globe on your dime.”

Prime Minister Phillip Davis has given no indication of when the general election will be held, though he said last weekend that he is not opposed to the implementation of fixed election dates.

The PLP has already ratified its candidates for the upcoming general election, and Davis said a fixed election date is “something for me to consider.” (CMC)