SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - On Sunday June 30th Soualiga Action Movement (SAM) revealed its list of candidates who will be postulating themselves for the upcoming snap elections slated for August 19th, 2024. The list included former leader and president of the board of USP Pamela Gordon-Carty and Cecil Nicholas.
The United St. Maarten Party founded in 2014 proved to be a formidable party winning seats in consecutive elections leading up to the 2024 election where they were unsuccessful in garnering enough votes to be awarded a seat.
In an invited comment, Mr. Cecil Nicholas and Mrs. Pamela Gordon-Carty spoke openly about their motivations for Joining SAM and addressed the reasons for withdrawing USP’s eligibility to contest the upcoming snap elections.
Nicholas a founding member of the party, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the board member and supporters of USP for their unwavering commitment and support over the years. He apologized for not continuing the fight to make meaningful change for the People of St. Maarten under the banner of USP due to circumstances beyond his control.
He spoke highly of his broad members and thanked them for working tirelessly over the past decade to propel the party into a position to make a difference in lives of the people of St. Maarten.
“The members of the board of a political party are often overlooked, their efforts of organizing campaigns, encouraging and guiding candidates and ensuring that the party fulfills its obligations often go unnoticed, so I want to publicly thank them for their commitment and service despite the many challenges the party faced,” said Nicholas.
Nicholas further expressed gratitude to former leader Frans Richardson for recognizing his potential and for introducing him to the intricacies of politics. “The past decade has been a great learning experience for me, I’ve learned the virtues of patience, how to be resilient in the face of adversity, and identified qualities inherent in great leaders,” continued Nicholas.
Gordon-Carty new to politics, showed great promise by continuing to execute the party’s platform with the submission of two amendments to parliament, one to strengthen child sex abuse laws and the other pertaining to:
Mandatory hiring of the youth with a tax incentive component for businesses that comply. The submissions were made despite the party not having representation in parliament, due to declarations of independence by the then USP members of parliament. “We were determined to be impactful in-spite of our circumstance because we had a responsibility to the country,” said Gordon-Carty.
The decision to close USP and join forces with SAM embodies a deep-seated desire to steer the country back on the right path, as articulated by Cecil Nicholas, who shares the belief with SAM's leader and founder, Mr. Franklin Meyers, that St. Maarten has taken a wrong turn and must go back to the drawing board to get it right. “We both believe that SAM is the right fit and the call to service by Franklin has been overwhelmingly accepted because it has always been about country above self for us.”
SAM presents a compelling vision of hope, empathy, and a steadfast commitment to the betterment of St. Maarten. It is a call for every citizen to reflect on the kind of future they wish to leave for their children and grandchildren.
Nicholas driven to effectuate positive change in the country said, “This is not just a call to vote for me on SAM, it is a call to take a stand for a future that embraces progress, empathy, and a willingness to commit to doing better.”
With a renewed sense of hope and visions of a brighter more prosperous St. Maarten for all Nicholas invites all of the USP supporters to join him and Mrs. Gordon-Carty on the SAM platform. “If you are frustrated, disgusted and tired of being tired of the level of immaturity displayed by the current leadership then make SAM your new home like we did. You will not be disappointed,” concluded Nicholas.
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