Retired School Principal Nigel DeGale is confident of creating a major upset in the St George North-west constituency in the upcoming general election and to win the seat for the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the first time since the 1984 general election.
DeGale told THE NEW TODAY that now he has won the nomination on Saturday night in a narrow 70-69 victory over the Chairman of the Constituency Branch Dr. Malachy Dottin, he will be meeting with his trusted team “to sit down to plan strategies to win the seat of the St George North-west.”
He spoke of a plan to look “at all areas” that can bring about the victory on Polling Day along with working in close coordination with the National Executive of Congress to bring home the seat.
He said the National Executive of NDC is fully behind him in the endeavour to win the seat for the first time in 42 years.
“I believe that they will put a lot of resources at my disposal to get the job done,” he remarked.
DeGale is coming up against Adrian Joseph, the former Chief of Protocol and Clerk of Parliament who was selected to contest for the major opposition New National Party (NNP) following the decision of the incumbent 79-year-old Keith Mitchell not to contest another general election.
Keith Mitchell first contested the seat in the 1972 general election but lost to former Finance Minister George Hosten of the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) of former Prime Minister Sir Eric Gairy.
He did not contest the 1976 general election but returned in 1984 when Grenada returned to democratic rule of law following the collapse of the 1979-83 Grenada Revolution of slain Marxist leader Maurice Bishop.
Mitchell, who was forced to live in exile in the United States by the Revolutionary Leaders, returned home in late 1983 as a member of the Francis Alexis-led Grenada Democratic Movement (GDM) which joined with two other Centrist parties to form NNP under the leadership of late Prime Minister Herbert Blaize.
DeGale told THE NEW TODAY that he will be meeting with the Constituency branch “to select the best team and group of persons to be around me and to work with me to win that seat.”
The ex-school principal is confident that he can bring about the downfall of the NNP stronghold in St George North-west that was created by the former Grenadian leader.
He said: “The level of politics that caused him (Keith Mitchell) to be there for all these years would not be able to penetrate my style. My style is to meet and integrate with the people and reason with the people.”
DeGale spoke of plans afoot to meet with persons considered as strong NNP supporters and to show them the benefits brought to the country by Congress in areas such as the Payment of Pension to Public Workers, and increase in the Minimum wage to help the lower strata in the community.
According to DeGale, one of the pluses for him is that although he is currently living in Hope Vale in St George South-east, he is originally from Cherry Hill in the St George North-west constituency.
He sees himself as “a people’s man” and knows most of the people in the Constituency such as the elderly and even the Youths except for those who are recent entrants in the community.
In addition, DeGale pointed out that an added advantage for him is that as an Educator for years, he has taught most of the persons in the Constituency from Cherry Hill to Brizan and Perseverance as well as coached some of the outstanding footballers and also served as Manager of the St George’s Netball team to play against the other parishes on the island.
He also said that he is known in circles such as Cricket and Track & Field and also served as Chairman of the St George’s Sports Committee and also opened a Karate School in the Grand Mal Community Centre in 1991 and had it there for about 20 years.
DeGale stressed that he is known in St George North-west as one who helped to organise Bingo and Dance in the Constituency in order to bring people together to have fun.
He does not believe that the Keith Mitchell legacy of being dominant in the Constituency will prevent him from winning the seat on Election Day.
“I am a man on the ground – I don’t just walk through the village or walk through the village. I stop and I interact and I call people and I greet people and I think I’m more popular than him (Adrian Joseph). Time will tell but I will give my best,” he said.