US Town Councilor To Be Featured Speaker At People’s Action Movement’s Golden Anniversary Convention
US Town Councilor Kenrick W. Clifton has been confirmed as the featured speaker for the historic Golden Anniversary Convention of the 2nd Oldest Political Party in the Federation of St.Kitts-Nevis the People’s Action Movement.
The theme for the historic convention which is slated for June 14th 2015 is “Celebrating Our Legacy. Defining Our Future”.
The keynote speaker the Honorable Kenrick W. Clifton, Esq. holds the rare distinction of being the only known national of St. Kitts and Nevis to have been elected to the Legislative Branch of a Municipal Government in the United States of America when he was elected Town Councillor for the City of Randolph, Massachucetts USA.
Town Councillor Ken Clifton, as he is known to his constituents in Randolph, MA, also made history when his overwhelming victory at the polls made him the first person of color to accomplish such a feat in the town’s two-hundred year history.
Councillor Clifton was born in Sandy Point, St. Kitts of Anguillan and Nevisian parentage. He moved to the United States, completed high school and attended Boise State University in Idaho on an academic and athletic scholarship. In track, he set the Big Sky Conference 400m record and was named to the Freshman All-American football team the same year as famed Miami Dolphins quarterback, Dan Marino.
Upon graduation from university, Councillor Clifton returned to his St.Kitts, worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was a member of the Independence Organizing Committee. He was very active in his community and represented Sandy Point in both football and cricket and founded the Sandy Point B’s Etonics Athletic Club which won the National Championships.
Clifton became a United Nations Fellows in 1984 and also represented St. Kitts and Nevis in New York. Later, at age 26, he became the youngest person to head a Government Corporation and four years later was appointed Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Trade where he played a pivotal role in spearheading the country’s tourism development.
He is extremely proud to have been part of a team that developed the Dr. Kennedy Simmonds Highway and the Land Reclamation Project now known as Port Zante which provided access to land and untold development possibilities. He is also takes pride in his role in helping to transform the tourism industry from 5 cruise ships per year to several hundreds per year and from attracting about 12,000 stay-over tourists to hundreds of thousands of visitors.
In 1995, Councillor Clifton’s career in the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis came to and he left the country.
Clifton’s professional background is matched by his academic accomplishments. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Boise State University, a Master’s Degree in Government and International Relations from Queens College in New York and graduated with a Certificate in Investment Appraisal from Harvard University. He also graduated with First Class Honors from Wolverhampton Law School in the UK and received his Post-graduate Legal Education from the Inns of Court School of Law, Britain’s premier legal institution. Clifton also received his Legal Certificate of Education from Norman Law School in Jamaica and was admitted to practice law in England and Wales and the Eastern Caribbean.
Clifton also achieved a stellar athletic career and helped to pave the way for modern day icons such as Kim Collins. Clifton is a former 400 meter National Champion and the record holder until recently. He is the first national to represent the country in the World Athletic Championships which were held in Helsinki, Finland in 1983. He was coached by the late Dr. Bertram Hudson Ross and Seymour Davis and competed at the Helsinki Games alongside Americans Carl Lewis and Florence Joyner-Griffith.
After Clifton’s active career, he was named National Head Coach and then served as President of the St. Kitts Amateur Athletic Association.
Clifton is also a prolific writer on legal, educational and political issues. He has published scholarly articles including the “Caribbean Court of Justice: How participatory is our democracy”; “Electoral reform: an idea whose time has come”; and “The independence of the judiciary.”
Kenrick Clifton’s accomplishments reached a crescendo when he was elected to the high office of Town Councillor in 2008 on the Randolph Town Council, the legislative body for the town of Randolph, a suburb of Boston, MA. In his first attempt for political office, he defeated well-established opponents and in 2011 was returned to office unopposed. He has also served on Governor Deval Patrick’s Task Force for the Implementation of President Obama’s Stimulus Bill.
Town Councillor Kenrick Clifton is married to Karen Haynes Clifton, Esq. from Basseterre, St. Kitts and is the father of three namely Tazula, Brandon and Kyle.
The Golden Anniversry Convention is scheduled for a 2pm start and will also feature addresses by People’s Action Movement Leader Hon. Shawn K Richards and former Leader and the country’s First Prime Minister Rt. Hon Dr. Sir Kennedy A Simmonds.
The People’s Action Movement convention has for the last 50 years been the highlight event for the party’s faithful. It has also been a time of reflection and inspiration as members recall when 49 years ago the four original PAM stalwarts (Billy Herbert, Kennedy Simmonds, Michael Powell, and Richard Caines) decided that for the love of country they would sacrifice their lives and challenge the policies of the the then Labour Administration led by Sir Robert Llewelyn Bradshaw. Other pioneers included Colin Pereira, Cecil “Moonlight” Roberts, Joseph Sutton, Victor Maynard, Richard Shelford, Shefton Warner, and Courtney Dickenson.
The Party is currently a major part of the historic ruling Team UNITY Administration of St.Kitts-Nevis along with the People’s Labour Party and the Concerned Citizens Movement.
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