This morning, we caught up with President Geovannie Brackett at the Queen Street Police Station, where he had gone to get a permit to hold a public meeting with potential Pickstock voters. He explained his organization's decision to get directly involved with politics:

Geovannie Brackett, President - COLA
"Citizens Organized for Liberty though Action (COLA), we went to Queen Street Police Station to get a permit and to sign a bond for a public meeting to be held this Thursday October 8th. It will be at 7:30 in the night, to hold a public meeting right in the Food and Beverage parking lot next to Smiling Meats. The purpose of calling this public meeting, "Our orders are real" public meeting. COLA in our campaign of building the base and "Our no ICJ" campaign have continuously calling for a couple of years for the removal of Foreign Minister Sedi Elrington. The Prime Minister has refused to adhere to that call. That call has not only come from COLA, but that call has actually come from several quarters within the society and from other activist groups. We believe that the Prime Minister had a chance to remove Sedi Elrington and to put someone else there to restore credibility to that position. However, that was not done. The position that we are taking here at COLA, as an organization, while we have never done this before, we've never attempt to either endorse or not endorse a politician. We have come out unanimously to say that to choose any option except Sedi Elrington for the Pickstock area. We believe if the UDP which has a lot of money right now, we know that they are the incumbent, if he were to win again, we would have to have him face as foreign minister once again. This for us in our view and we've consult with many different people, is not in line with what we want to see for this country. This is just the start of another campaign. The build the base campaign, we would have love to continue to flesh that out, but the Prime Minister gave us a promise that the base will be built and then called the election, which we don't have any assurance that the base will be built and we cannot continue a campaign when there is no real government in power as per say right now."

So, is Brackett or the members of COLA being manipulated, or is he being paid by a political party to campaign against Wilfred Elrington? The press challenged him to respond to those and other questions, and here is that back and forth:

Reporter
"You are jumping the gun a bit here because there is no guarantee that if the United Democratic Party should win at the polls on the 4th November, that the Prime Minister will name Wilfred Elrington as our foreign affairs minister again."

Geovannie Brackett, President - COLA
"He have a track record of two terms that he has been the foreign affairs minister. So once bitten twice shy."

Daniel Ortiz
"Do you concede that your credibility might take a hit simply because you have align yourself in what appears to be a political fight now?"

Geovannie Brackett, President - COLA
"I think that that a fair question, but there are risks always. We don't start off a position where you want to take or not based on whether or not our credibility is going to be attacked. Because right now my name and Moses Sulph name and all of our names with COLA are being attacked on Wave Radio. That's the simple fact."

Daniel Ortiz
"Are you being politically manipulated?"

Geovannie Brackett, President - COLA
"Well I just answer that question back a while ago. The answer is no."

Daniel Ortiz
"Are you being paid by any political party for this?"

Geovannie Brackett, President - COLA
"You being paid for what you do to ask this question? Just leave it at that then."

Daniel Ortiz
"But you still haven't answer the question, are you being paid?"

Geovannie Brackett, President - COLA
"I am not being paid. I am not being politically motivated. And I am asking you are you being paid for asking that political question?"

Daniel Ortiz
"I am a journalist. I have questions to ask."

Geovannie Brackett, President - COLA
Okay well then Daniel. Channel 7 will give us 2 minutes on their TV station whether we have or not. So the point is let Channe7 7 ask that question whether they want or not. We have said no."

Of important note is that we have confirmed that Brackett had a meeting with Dr. Francis Smith, PUP Standard Bearer for Pickstock last night in plain view on Pickstock Street. When we asked Brackett about that meeting, he claimed that it was a courtesy meeting to inform Smith of his intentions to campaign against Elrington.