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The following release was submitted to Wired8868 on behalf of Senator Garvin Simonette:
(via Trinidad Guardian)
A letter of resignation has been offered to the Prime Minister with immediate effect by Mr Garvin Simonette. The decision comes following the release of records indicating an arrest due to driving under the influence in the United States. In addition to his resignation, he also declined to accept his appointment to the Cabinet as Minister of Public Administration.
Mr Simonette stated: “I have advised the Prime Minister that in light of adverse media coverage regarding my culpability for driving under the influence, it would be inappropriate for me to accept his appointment to the Cabinet of Trinidad and Tobago. I have also advised him of my resignation from the Senate with immediate effect.”
His decision to withdraw and resign is driven by his desire to relieve the Prime Minister and The People’s National Movement from the distracting burdens of having to navigate any adverse commentary about a key team member.
“I sincerely apologize for any embarrassment caused because of my past infraction. The last 16 months as a Senator provides ample evidence of my commitment to serving my country in the best possible way,” he said.
He wishes to thank the Honourable Prime Minister for the opportunity to have served and remains committed to the advancement of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
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Kelvin, to the issue of whether or not a lil DUI conviction constitutes an offence substantial enough to disqualify a man from public office, I’d like to hear your views on Colin Partap’s dismissal years ago.
I feel sure that you, like good citizens in general and good PNMites in particular, have not changed your public stance…
My response to a friend who forwarded this story with a comment “OH DEAR WHAT A MESS”
SMALL THING not worth worrying about. Or as The Bard of Avon once wrote — “Much Ado About Nothing”
But for the sake of my own sanity, I asked myself a few questions.
In a country where one of the culturally accepted rites of passage for young men is to prove their ability to drink copious amounts of alcohol, how come DUI (in another country, according to that country’s standards) becomes an unpardonable sin in Trinidad and Tobago?
Now that is a culture we need to spend effort on changing.
Take any random 100 Trinbagonian males and ask them to say truthfully if they ever, ever drove a vehicle after having a little too much alcohol to drink or even drunk, how many you expect will answer honestly YES. I taking in front, YES too many times.
BTW Start with the current MPs and Senators, including the women.
Truly does ONE DUI conviction disbar a citizen from ever, ever, ever serving his country?
So maybe he should have disclosed it before accepting the appointment in 2018, or maybe screening by political parties is inadequate. I suggest you ask Donald Trump about some of his choices.
That’s my 2 cents worth.
Kelvin
Kelvin, I agree. I don’t see how this alone invalidates his right to serve. Did Rowley not know before and lost his temper about being ‘blindsided’? Is there something else in the mortar? Based on what we know, I feel Simonette was harddone by.