Dear Editor,
I returned home rejuvenated after a brief respite in the cold north/east United States. I meant to inform you, via letter, who I think should be Saint Lucia’s Person of the Year for 2017. I humbly submit that Mayor Peterson Francis should be that person. Here are my three reasons: 1. Mayor Francis has reminded every Saint Lucian at home and abroad what service to one’s country looks like. It means going beyond narrow partisan politics and engaging the average citizen in uplifting his or her capital city and its environment. 2. Mayor Francis has exhibited a vision for the island’s capital as far as law, order and cleanliness are concerned. The Mayor’s actions remind us that God hates ugly. 3. He has co-operated with constituencies outside his Castries city jurisdiction in a way that had been lost to local politics. Little wonder that the prime minister has caught on and now works with the Mayor to bring beauty, peace and good order in a society that appeared at one time to be headed where evil rules. For these three reasons and for the way he treats his staff and work force at the Castries City Council, Mayor Francis is my Person of the year by a long way ahead of other worthy contenders.
