Liberia: The Urgency For Change: “Why We Can’t Wait”
Presidential Aspirant Alexander Cummings, left and Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine, his running mate.
Article by William Q. Harmon
— Charlyne Brumskine Explains Being ‘Fixer-2’
The vice presidential candidate to Alexander Cummings has said that “no revolution was born out of perfect timing” as she responds to critics who question her decision to forgo her legislative ambition to accept Cummings’ offer.
In an acceptance speech, Cllr. Charlyne Brumskine reminded her critics that history was never made by those who followed conventional formulas of how life should progress.
According to Brumskine, she is seizing on the opportunities to make change as the country is in decline, and by joining hands with Cummings, whom she claims is the best to lead Liberia, the country would be transformed .
“Societies in decline do not have the luxury to ‘wait your turn.’ We must quickly grab the willing, the best, and the brightest. We must have urgent sense now! I am not a career politician and never sought out to be one,” Brumskine said as she defended her selection by Cummings to run on the ticket of the opposition Collaborating Political Parties in the October 10 polls.
“I came to the political discourse because I believe in a better Liberia. A Liberia of inclusivity, led by honest, innovative, and courageous men and women with the vision to transform our country,” added Brumkine, who is a well-respected professor of law at the Louis Arthur Grimes School.
Brumskine’s decision to accept the Vice Standard Bearer position of the Collaborating Political Parties at the nascent stage of her political career has left many questioning her experience in the field.
Her critics think that it is best for her to pursue legislative ambition, which, if she wins, would help her gain governmental experience and position her better for the country’s second highest offer in the future.
But Brumskine — the daughter of the late veteran politician, Cllr. Charles Brumskine — holds a different perspective and is relying on her legal expertise to effect transformative change in the country if her party emerges victorious in the October 10 elections.
Brumskine is of the view that, was considered for Liberia’s second highest office not only because of her father’s legacy, but also due to her own merits as a successful lawyer and entrepreneur.
Brumskine’s late father was a formidable force in Liberian politics, consistently placing in the top four during the country’s last three postwar elections and serving as Senator for Grand Bassa County in the 1990s, which is the Liberty Party’s stronghold.
While Brumskine may be a political newcomer, her status as a young, accomplished professional woman could earn her support from both of the most sought-after voting demographics: youth and women.
She is known for her commitment to championing issues that resonate with the Liberian people, but how that will play in her favor during the campaign is still unclear.
However, Brumskine is one of the two women now running for vice president on the ticket of a major political party — and like her father, she achieved the highest score on last year’s Supreme Court bar exam — indicating her readiness to continue his legacy as a legal professional and in politics.
Brumkine however noted that Liberians should be less concerned about her years of experience in government but more concerned about the urgency of the current state of affairs, for which she had Cummings fix broken.
“We are yet at another crossroads and another opportunity to decide what the next six years of our lives will be,” she says.
“The gravity of the fast deterioration of our nation’s political, economic, and social structures requires that we act now!
“The CHOICE OF NOW is urgent! It is a critical choice that must weigh heavily on each of us. It requires a deliberate effort to separate us from the current systems of today and forces us to make political choices that we have never made before.”
“Today I tell you that you have another choice. A choice of a man who has a proven record of fixing broken systems across this world and who has chosen a young Bassa woman to help him fix this country,” Brumksine said.
Meanwhile, Cummings, a former Senior Executive of Coca-Cola, has said that his choice of Vice Standard Bearer is up to the task, and that he has explicit confidence in her leadership ability.
Source Daily Observer.
