Suzanne Leslie-Bailey - born to serve
Published:Friday | June 6, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
There's no doubt in Suzanne Leslie-Bailey's mind; she was born to serve. The St James-born Leslie-Bailey noted both parents (father a councillor, mother an educator), were service-oriented. She actually helped both in their endeavours, whether with treats in her father's division or at school with any activities. But she got into organised volunteerism with the Kiwanis Club of New Kingston, the first and largest all-female club in Jamaica.
"That's where I honed my service skills and totally got the opportunity to interact with the vulnerable and the marginalised," said Leslie-Bailey, a former distinguished president of the club where she continues to serve. A University of the West Indies graduate (economics degree), she never wanted to work in the private sector.
She started at the Ministry of Finance and Planning, working with various portfolio ministries in her career. But she wanted more. She remembers sitting with a former boss in Parliament before a standing finance committee meeting and both agreed she had a place in the House.
In 2005, she started working with former Prime Minister Bruce Golding when he became Leader of the Opposition. After the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) won the 2007 general election, she moved into the Office of the Prime Minister as Golding's research assistant. Currently, she's deputy chief of staff in the office of the Leader of the Opposition and deputy opposition spokesperson on tourism. She believes the 'small man', like the craft vendor and small farmer, isn't benefitting from the sector, and that it's time to seriously pursue other aspects, especially sports tourism.
"That's what we're known for," she said. "Instead of just going to the white sandy beaches, the visitors must be able to go into a community like Usain Bolt's community, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce's community ... these are figures who stand out internationally, so we need to market that." Instead of going for a 'First-World hotel' look, she felt we should try authentic things that better reflect 'us', like sitting on a wooden stool while eating roast yam and salt fish.
NO IMAGE OF POVERTY
"I'm not saying we should project a poverty image, I mean show an authentic cultural, indigenous image of Jamaica, and I think that's what people look for when they go on vacation; to garner experiences that they would not have at home," she added, also calling for better linkages between tourism and other sectors, including manufacturing and agriculture.
Though her father was a People's National Party (PNP) councillor, Leslie-Bailey not only never leaned to either of the major parties, she was disenchanted with politics.
"Serving and improving the lives of persons is important to me and I did not think it was being sufficiently addressed by politicians." So, she sat on "the fence of apathy", but finally decided to act. She believes the JLP, currently led by Andrew Holness, is the party to transform Jamaica. If (and she stresses if) she had a choice of constituency seat to contest, it would be West Central St James, "but certainly, wherever I can serve, I will go." She doesn't support a gender quota in the Houses of Parliament, as she feels it contradicts what feminists and other women advocate, to be treated equally, respected, and recognised for their talents.
Democratic process
"It also contradicts the democratic process where you are supposed to be duly elected, not just that a space is made available for you," she said. "But I'm not going to say that there isn't a clear advantage to having women in politics." She feels women bring 'soft skill' sets that have been missing from politics.
"We (women) can't say 'oh politics is too hard'," she said. "We must be driven by our own determination to make that difference and that's what drives me." If elected, she wants to develop self-reliance in her constituents, fostering respect for order and discipline.
"I believe my strong advantage is my genuine desire to serve and to improve lives, because then you will gear all the resources given to you towards that end," she said. "I'm not intimidated as a woman to go into politics. I want to be on the inside making that difference."