KULAH PARKER SPEAK ON ISSUES

The elections for the presidency of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas are now only three days away and the landscape is getting more defined.  In the past few days, Rev. Reeves, Rev. Wilson and other prominent Liberians have made their intentions known as to whom they support for the highest job within the Diaspora.

The endorsements are a way for the opinion leaders in the community to show whom they support and in the process help the candidates garner more votes.

It is expected that before September 23rd arrives, the political landscape will be so defined that it will be clear who stands behind whom.

It is within this vein that the BC got a call from a community member and leader, Mr. Kula A Parker.  Mr. Parker served as the Internal Auditor of the George Wuo administration for two years and was also a presidential candidate for the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota in the just ended Minnesota elections.  He later withdrew his candidacy.

In his interview with the BC, Mr. Parker noted that before the debates he was quite undecided about where he stood with regards to who was more equipped than the other to lead the Union.  But, after listening to the debates he is now convinced that Mr. Wettee did not make a case for wanting the highest Liberian job in the Diaspora.  He noted that Mr. Wettee still has a chance to make a stand in Philly on Friday otherwise Mr. Toe will win a landslide victory.

With regards to Mr. Toe’s debate issues, he states that they are clear, his immigration ideas, accountability promise and the transparency in the dealings of ULAA should be commended.  If Mr. Wettee cannot successfully counter Mr. Toe during the second debate, the victory will be resounding.

Mr. Parker also stated that the Toe team seems to have a clear plan of how the Union should lead in the next two years.  Stating further, “ I believe if elected, Mr. Toe will bring fresh ideas to the Union and strive for a permanent solution to the immigration problem”. 

“We cannot continue marching and demonstrating from year to year, we should lobby congress and engage our politicians”.

With regards to the delegate issue, Mr. Parker stated that he raised the issue with Mr. Grimes and the leader of the OLM.  He noted that the community needs to know who are the people that will be voting and putting in a new leader, they need to know the process.  As it stands right now, community residents are completely ignorant to what the processes are in appointing delegates.

Asked if this is an endorsement of Mr. Toe, Mr. Parker noted that if the election was to be held today, his position is clear, he would be voting for Mr. Toe.

Finally, Mr. Parker averred that if this was not election season, probably no one would even care about ULAA, the disconnect with ULAA and the Chapter organizations are due mainly to the poor representation of ULAA at the chapter level.

He ended by admonishing the delegates to vote their conscience in Philadelphia and make sure they use their analytical judgments based on the discussions and records of the candidates.

In other news, it is reported that Mr. Karlton George has reportedly endorsed the candidacy of the Toe Norris team; the BC will bring an update as soon as more information is available.