New senator says public will answer opposition on whether post is deserving
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Lisa-Bostwick Dean received her instruments and letters of appointment as a senator yesterday during a swearing-in ceremony at Government House.
She will fill the vacancy in the Senate left by former Senate President Kay Forbes Smith, who resigned to take up her new role as managing director of the Disaster Reconstruction Authority.
During the ceremony, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said he trusts Bostwick-Dean’s appointment will lead to her future service in other capacities.
He said the newly appointed senator is neither “new or naïve” to the pressures of public service, and her willingness to serve was partly influence by her parents, whom he thanked for their contributions.
Bostwick-Dean is the managing partner at the Bostwick and Bostwick law firm.
She is the daughter of Dame Janet Bostwick, the first woman elected to the House of Assembly, and former Senate President Henry Bostwick.
“Through her parents she learned that through dedicated service a boy from Toote Shop Corner and a girl from East Street could become the voices of the marginalized and victimized,” the prime minister said.
“Lisa has the example of her parents and others, but she used these examples to become her own woman. She will chart her own path and her voice and her passions will continue to grow and develop on the national stage including advocacy for the rights of juveniles.”
Minnis’ announcement on Sunday that Bostwick-Dean would be appointed to the Senate was not met without controversy.
In a statement, leader of opposition business in the Senate Senator Fred Mitchell said the appointment of Bostwick-Dean took the axiom of “friends, family and lovers” to new heights.
He said young, aspiring FNMs should ask their party’s leader “how much for the Bostwick’s?”
In response yesterday, Bostwick-Dean suggested Mitchell’s remarks were not deserving of a response.
She said: “In as much as he suggests the Bostwicks have been given something and he lists my mother became Order of the Dame, I think the public knows better than that. The public would have clamored for more, so I have nothing to say to him on that. The public will answer him as to what was deserving.”
Asked about her role in the Senate, Bostwick-Dean said she has resisted public life as it opens those who answer the call to much public criticism; however, she said she believes the country requires people, like herself, who will stand for integrity, and fight for what is right in The Bahamas to bring about necessary changes.
“It’s not an easy road, public life,” she said. “It is a life that opens you to a lot of public criticism and quite frankly, attacked by members of the public. However, I do believe that my country does require persons that I view myself as — one of integrity, to stand up and to fight for what is right in the country and try to bring about various changes.”
Bostwick-Dean advised her platform interests, include youth justice and youth matters, noting it is essential for the government to address issues surrounding young people in a more comprehensive manner. She said she also plans to continue her mother’s legacy and advocate for women’s rights.
Bostwick-Dean is a mother of one and married to former general manager and editor of The Nassau Guardian Brent Dean.
The ceremony was attended by Forbes Smith, Governor General C. A. Smith, Attorney General Carl Bethel, several Cabinet ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Peter Turnquest, and Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin.
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