Born and raised in the district of Bodden Town, Osbourne “Ossie” Bodden served two terms in the Legislative Assembly. He was Minister for Health, Youth, Sports & Culture from 2013 to 2015, and Minister for Community Affairs, Youth & Sports from 2015 to 2017.
Prior to entering the political arena, Ossie worked in the financial services industry. He also operates two businesses in his district and is a deeply devoted husband to his wife Nancy and proud father of three children – Alexis, Gavin and Amber.
Ossie’s focus and motivation has always been on building a better Cayman Islands for all. While in Government, he had an ambitious agenda which he worked diligently to fulfill. Some of his ministerial accomplishments are highlighted below.
Accomplishments
• Commissioned first ever National Solid Waste Management Policy
• Created the Cayman Islands’ first ever Older Persons Policy
• Successfully passed older persons’ legislation to support the Older Persons Policy with unanimous support in the Legislative Assembly
• Appointed the first Mental Health Commission
• Coordinated with the Governor’s Office and the Ministry of Home Affairs to create and open a multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) which is responsible for all child welfare matters in the Cayman Islands
• Invested in much needed landfill equipment for the Department of Environmental Health (DEH)
• Issued strategic outline case to procure an integrated solid waste management system for the Cayman Islands
• Built and opened the new Bodden Town Cemetery
• Built and opened the male wing of the Frances Bodden Home
• Worked With Planning Department To Design Youth Remand Centre
• Opened offices in Cayman Brac for the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and Needs Assessment Unit (NAU)
• Acquired additional office space for the NAU
• Developed and Implemented a public relations strategy for the dcfs
• Developed and provided training on the Cayman Islands’ first Child Abuse Prevention Policy for national sports associations
• Provided new office space, equipment and vehicles for the Cadet Corps & introduced a stipend for volunteers
• Renovated the Caribbean Haven Rehabilitation Centre
• Increased funding for the Pines Retirement Home
• Repaired the Golden Age Home in West Bay and the Sunrise Cottage in East End
• Repaired the Kirkconnell Community Care Centre in Cayman Brac
• Renovated Maple House and purchased property in Northward and Bodden Town for necessary additional space for adult special needs care
• Revised the Criteria for Seamen Benefits to ensure that seamen and/or their spouses receive Government funding
• Increased Funding to meals on wheels to enable the organisation to deliver the programme to the eastern districts
• Upgraded sporting facilities/equipment
Truman Bodden Sports Complex
• Installed a new public address system
• Bought a sweeper/scrubber for the MONDO Super-X track
• Bought grooming equipment for artificial turf fields
• Bought a new high jump mat
• Renovated the bocce court
• Installed new grandstand signs
• Installed mesh fabric to cover storage area at the Maxwell Seymour Grandstand
John Gray High School Walking Track
• Installed lights
Ed Bush Playing Field
• Constructed building with changing rooms, media room and concession stand in order to host international events
Savannah Primary School
• Installed lights around the playfield and walking track
Bodden Town Primary School
• Constructed a walking track
• Created plan for artificial turf field
Donovan Rankin Play Field
• Constructed a walking track and built changing rooms
Haig Bodden Sports Complex
• Commissioned the master plan for the facility which includes a concession stand, changing rooms, basketball, volleyball and tennis courts, external lighting, a boxing gym and general improvements
Old Man Bay Play Field
• Constructed a walking track
• Installed artificial turf field
Ossie was an active and concerned Bodden Town resident long before he decided to seek a seat in Government. As a past President and member of the Lions Club of Grand Cayman for over 32 years and now a Life member, he has worked tirelessly to serve both the Bodden Town community and Cayman in general.
A District Council for Bodden Town East
If elected, one of my first acts as the member for Bodden Town East will be to form a District Council to deal with basic constituency needs. This committee will manage a budget which consists of funding from both Government and private sector and will have about ten to twelve members.
The members of the Council will reflect balanced representation from the various population densities, provide me with accurate reporting of issues and tell me about residents’ concerns. I will also update the Council monthly on all current national and local issues from the Government side to make sure the residents of Bodden Town East stay informed. In my opinion, this is proper representation that ensures residents have a voice.
What is your vision for the district of Bodden Town?
The revitalisation and restoration of Bodden Town central is high on my list of priorities. This transformation will start with the rezoning of the area to neighbourhood commercial. I envision beautiful tree-lined streets, gas lamp lighting and cafes and craft stores on the land side of the main road. This will facilitate enterprise and allow small stores and services to be established which will reduce the amount of traffic and the need to go into George Town daily.
As a way of developing entrepreneurs in the area, I plan to build a warehouse-type structure on Crown property that will have individual spaces where small businesses can operate from. The goal is for these business owners to move out on their own at the end of a five-year contract. This scheme will be managed by the District Council that I will form, and I will work with the Cayman Islands Development Bank or the Centre for Business Development to provide micro and small business grants to interested persons
Traffic in the eastern districts
A solution to the huge problem of traffic to and from George Town throughout the workweek MUST be found. I will push hard to have the second main road from the East-West arterial built which will connect Newlands to Frank Sound. This will obviously have to be done in sections and will take years to complete but it is necessary as the population in Cayman continues to grow and move east.
Children are having to wake up at ungodly hours and rushed to get ready and be on the road by 6am if they have any hope of making it to school on time. Parents do not have the time to sit and discuss the day ahead or have breakfast with their children. This is unacceptable and contributes to the breakdown of the family unit.
Staggered work hours, a fit for purpose public transport system, and a reduction in the importation of vehicles are just some of the other measures needed to resolve this serious quality of life issue for the residents of our eastern districts.
Employment in Cayman
Too many of our young people are finding it difficult or impossible to get jobs even after gaining the required qualifications. Yet every day we are importing more and more persons on work permits. There is something fundamentally wrong with this picture, especially since in most cases it is not specialist high-experience jobs being advertised, but graduate entry-level positions that our young people are not being hired for.
The creation of WORC to match skills with jobs is definitely a step in the right direction but it is not enough. I think more employers need to view Caymanians as an asset to their organisation and an important resource. We should be considered partners, equals working side by side for the benefit of not only the business but the Cayman Islands as a whole.
The general stereotype of Caymanians being lazy is an offensive one but at the same time, we know that there is a small group of our people who are looking to reap the rewards without putting in the work. They will have to pull up their bootstraps and do their part because businesses need reliable and hardworking people who give an honest day’s work for decent wages.
Education in Cayman
I will press to have an accredited trade school established in Cayman. It is high time that we start to produce our own masons, carpenters, electricians and plumbers etc. once again and stop having to import people for these well-paying jobs. Sadly, for various reasons, our people are not receiving the level of on-the-job training that they used to. Therefore, the priority of the next administration should be to make sure that our young people are identified, from as early as primary school, as academically gifted or more vocationally inclined. I have spoken to teachers who say that this is doable. Then we can steer students in the direction of success as defined by their recognised abilities and talents.
Students who are vocationally gifted should be tested differently from academically proficient students. If we do this, we can reduce the number of so-called “failures” in our education system and exam results, and the subsequent emotional scars and stigma and falling through the proverbial cracks which occur.
We are failing our kids more than they are failing their exams. We cannot and should not put the benefit of work permit fees ahead of the proper educational development of our people – young or old.
Caring for our elderly community
In our canvassing we are finding an alarming number of older persons and retirees who cannot access or afford health insurance. This is another serious quality of life issue.
CINICO is overwhelmed because it has become the dumping ground for everyone who cannot be covered by insurance elsewhere. As a result, it has to be heavily subsidised by Government. In my opinion, we need to move to a system of national insurance and spread risk among more people, so that our most at-risk folk can be given adequate care in their golden years.
Many of these people have worked for Government and contributed greatly to this country over the course of their lives. Now, as they retire with meagre pensions or none at all, they have to suffer indignities along with inadequate health care and they cannot access the medicine and preventative care they need.
This is a dire situation and one that concerns me greatly as the former Minister who spearheaded the introduction of the Older Persons Policy and also led the Ministry of Community Affairs. Our older persons need us, and they need proper care. It is time for Government to have a serious discussion with our current health insurance providers and find a solution to this national crisis.
Emergency Services Centre
If elected, I will ensure that the long-anticipated Emergency Services Centre is built in Bodden Town to provide this area with adequate resources in the event of fire and other emergency situations.
We have seen where long wait times have resulted in complete ruin of property and even the death of our residents. This is simply unacceptable. The districts of Bodden Town and Savannah Newlands have experienced the highest population growth in the past 20 years, and this calls for greater access to timely service in emergency conditions. The Centre would feature a helipad and also serve as an additional hurricane shelter, along with the Church of God Hall that I will work to have completed expeditiously. Both structures are desperately needed in the Bodden Town community.
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Website: https://vote4community.ky/osbourne-bodden/
Dear Friends, Colleagues and Constituents of Bodden Town East
I grew up in Central Bodden Town and am proud of my Gun Square Heritage, as well as my rich history associated with the Bodden Town district. I and my family still reside in my Bodden Town East Constituency and it is an area I am deeply passionate about.
I have been privileged to have enjoyed a very successful career in the Tourism, Airline and Aviation industry, and also established a very successful Airline and Aviation security business. Described as a true ‘man of the soil’, I am perhaps better known as ‘John John’.
From a very early age, I was keen to step up as a community leader. As a teenager I became a member of the Bodden Town Football Club as a player, and later became the captain of the team, and served as coach, Manager and now for many years I have served as Vice President of the Club. Across many years, I have strived to encourage the growth and development of young people. I was also very active in my Gun Square Community by organizing community socials throughout the years.
I continued to see the needs of persons throughout the community and across the island, and with that, my passion to assist them continued to increase and I became more and more active, eventually leading to me offering myself for political office. I have now served two terms as an MLA (now called MP’s) and have been a Cabinet Minister for the past four years. Across all of this time serving our country, I have become a proven leader, but also a genuinely caring one who is always there for the people. This has led me to be an integral part of the Leadership of the Cayman Islands under the Unity Government. I hope that leadership was particularly evident in 2020, as our Government, including myself as Minister of Health, guided and led the country through the Covid-19 Pandemic successfully, first of all keeping everyone healthy and safe, and at the same time preserving our strong finances and economy.
I am deeply appreciative of the support I have received during my tenure as an MLA/MP and proud of my accomplishments so far. With your blessing, I am keen and look forward to continuing to serve the constituency of BTE and the entire Cayman Islands, which I will do with the same energy and commitment I have to date.
With your support, we can keep the Cayman Islands on a strong path forward for the future.
Hon. Dwayne ‘John John’ Seymour JP MP
The top 3 national issues that I intend to address if re-elected:
• Waste Management – George Town Landfill
• HealthCare – Cost and access
• Traffic Congestion
The top 3 constituency issues that I intend to address if re-elected:
• Housing
• Creating Public spaces, beaches and parks
• Education/Training
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Website: https://dwayneseymour.ky/
