Tufton, Holness, Shaw - a suggestion

Twenty-three years ago, today, United States vice-presidential candidates, Democratic Senator Lloyd Bentsen and Republican Senator Dan Quayle, met on the stage of the Omaha Civic Auditorium for a debate. The 41-year-old Quayle - who, eight years earlier, became the youngest person ever elected from Indiana to the US Senate - had been dogged by questions of inexperience.

In response, the young senator routinely compared his experience to that of the late, legendary Democrat, John F. Kennedy, who, nearly three decades earlier, at 43, was elected as the youngest president in America's history. On this night, though, the elder statesman Bersten rubbished Quayle's comparison to Kennedy, retorting: "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." As we would say in Jamaica, "Di place mash up! " Quayle was stunned - a state in which he remained for the balance of his disappointing political career.

I respectfully request that the top candidates for the leadership of the JLP similarly engage in a televised debate regarding their plans to tackle the issues facing Jamaica. I can understand the Labour Party's desire to avoid public fissions and feuds at this delicate moment in its history. A debate, by its very nature, is potentially discordant. But it need not be. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton - both Democrats - debated on dozens of occasions throughout the course of their campaign for the party's presidential nomination. Nonetheless, Obama, the eventual nominee and president, appointed Clinton to the highest post in his Cabinet - secretary of state.

Getting to know the candidates

Given the truncated selection period, a debate would enable the leading candidates to conveniently and efficiently introduce (or reintroduce) themselves and their ideas to delegates across the island, as well as to the general public. Many of us, for instance, don't know much about Education Minister Andrew Holness, except that he is young, is a protégé of Edward Seaga, and has been a member of parliament for the past 13 years. We do not know the extent of his accomplishments, if any, as the MP of a largely impoverished and crime-riddled constituency. Has he ever held a non-political job or leadership position? Are his core education stakeholders - students, parents and teachers - better off as a result of his service? What is his vision for Jamaica, and how will he implement it?

Commerce minister and JLP deputy leader, Dr Christopher Tufton, has also been heavily touted as a capable young leader. Many (including this newspaper, which declared him the 2010 Man of the Year) have praised him for his achievements in his previous role as minister of agriculture, as well as his more recent pronouncements on job creation and his decisiveness in shutting down the dysfunctional scrap metal trade.

But we would like to hear directly from Dr Tufton about his vision for Jamaica. In a recent In Focus article, columnist Ian Boyne maladroitly framed Tufton's early days in the National Democratic Movement as a liability. However, many Jamaicans - fed up with our rotten political system - would surely view his reformist background as indicative of a man who has, from the dawn of his political career, placed his country and transformation of its political process above political expedience and personal ambition.

As the elder statesman of the triumvirate, Finance Minister Audley Shaw needs no introductions. In Bruce Golding's closing argument to the Jamaican people, the outgoing prime minister effectively threw Mr Shaw, and others from his generation, under the bus - calling for younger leadership. But as the most viable representative of the old guard, the finance minister's experience and potential contribution to a national debate on the issues ought not be hastily dismissed.

Surely, the JLP leadership race is an internal party matter (not unlike the contest between Obama and Clinton). However, the victor will immediately become the leader of all Jamaicans - Labourites, Comrades, and independents alike. He will, more important, hold the promise of a brighter future, characterised by transparent, enlightened leadership. Why not demonstrate this transformation by rejecting the tradition of party bosses in smoke-filled rooms divvying up power?

Gentlemen, bring your qualifications and visions directly to the Jamaican people. Debate! Let the public determine which of you is Kennedy, and which is Quayle.

Din Duggan is an attorney working as a consultant with a global legal search firm. Email him at columns@gleanerjm.com or dinduggan@gmail.com or view his past columns at facebook.com/dinduggan and twitter.com/YoungDuggan.