FOX HILL

PLP: Fred Mitchell

FNM: Jacinta Higgs

Because Mr. Mitchell is a somewhat controversial figure who attracts a lot of press, there seems to be a great deal of interest in this seat. Listening to the FNM they count this one as a pickup, but I’m not convinced. In ’82 and ’87 the FNM came fairly close to winning it, but in ’92 even with a moderate breeze behind them, the PLP still hung on. Some would say that had to do with longtime MP George Mackey, but I don’t know about that. There are a couple of polling divisions in Fox Hill that can be counted on to give the PLP a decent margin and the FNM candidate has to pick up enough votes in the other areas to overcome those. One of the best places to do that has been cut off and put into St. Anne’s, making the job even harder.

It’s hard to rate how popular Mr. Mitchell is. Some of his partisans run a website, www.bahamasuncensored.com and they always seem to be showing him doing something or another in the seat. Some Bahamians seemed to object to the amount of traveling Mr. Mitchell did to do his job; are his constituents among them? The other thing to factor in is the fact that they felt the need to cut out and FNM area and that Mr. Mitchell is making a great deal of noise about his opponent. Sometimes that is a sign of a candidate running scared, but I think it’s just the way he is.

I tend to think that in the face of a light FNM breeze, Mr. Mitchell remain standing. If the winds pick up too much, he’ll get knocked over but he’s got the advantage.

Ranking: LEAN PLP