Good day Bermuda, Party colleagues, Members of the Media,
My name is Jarion Richardson and I’m running for Constituency 23, Paget West.
Before I begin my remarks, I’d like to thank my colleague and predecessor, Patricia Gordon-Pamplin.
Having spent 22-years serving the communities of Paget West and Bermuda as a whole, I have been humbled by her kind words and support.
I have had incredible privileges that the vast majority of Bermuda will never know.
As a police officer, I was privileged to work alongside members of various communities around Bermuda in resolving problems that seriously impacted their lives, safety and their own pursuits.
I was privileged to meet and work with truly selfless police officers, who are still out there on the front-line of a global pandemic.
I was privileged to serve in the Royal Bermuda Regiment and represent Bermuda in overseas training exercises.
I was privileged to assist small children as a medic in Jamaica and I was privileged to spend my early adult years as a reporter, observing court cases, Parliament nd getting an education in civil society second-to-none.
I got to participate in people’s greatest joys and then record, for all posterity, the legacy after they passed away.
I was trusted enough to be of service and here again, I’m asking for trust.
We face a calamitous future, full of uncertainty and, no doubt, suffering. We didn’t get here quickly or suddenly, but rather over time, almost without notice.
Our values of service and sharing have been replaced with ‘get while the getting is good’.
Our prudence, our discernment and humility replaced with raucousness and self-congratulation.
I believe this election is not about the issues that we can see, feel and discuss; it’s about the degeneration that led to our issues.
I believe that there is a better Bermuda over the horizon.
A Bermuda where opposing views are shared and respected, and maybe even admired.
A Bermuda where education is aligned to your dreams, whether it be a career or a lifestyle.
A Bermuda where you are valued, not because of the color of your skin or which family you’re from, but because of the care and compassion you pour into those around you.
A Bermuda where the economy functions for the good of all, and benefits protect the most vulnerable not enrich the few.
A Bermuda where families sit around dinner tables, where children play cricket in the streets and can walk home from school without fret.
Where our leaders lead humbly, embarrassed by their accomplishments and always subservient to necessities of the communities they serve.
Where money is valued, not for what it can get me, but for the security is provides.
Where our security is enshrined in our laws, not in our names.
Where are police aren’t cops, but constables. Where our teachers sit at the very top of our society, respected, dignified and honoured for their role in trustees of our hopes and builders of our future.
Where disagreement doesn’t mean disdain. Where angry is temporary, and forgiveness is perpetual.
Where we laugh, out loud – a lot.
Over our history we’ve been everything from slaves and sailors to farmers and fishermen to underwriters and attorneys.
In this time of uncertainty, we don’t know what we will be next. Which part of our economy will boom, or maybe it will be something that isn’t here yet.
But no matter what we do for a living, we will navigate it well if we arrest the regression of our civil standards and discourse.
We have to hold onto character and virtues.
Only that way can we get back to when we used to leave our doors unlocked.
I look forward to speaking individually and personally to every voter in Constituency 23.