In a formal press briefing held Thursday, United Workers Party (UWP) leader Dr. Thomson Fontaine announced a key candidate addition for the upcoming electoral contest: Juliette Shillingford, the former Chief Physical Planner for the Government of Dominica, will stand as the party’s nominee for the Roseau Central Constituency.
The vacancy on the UWP ticket for Roseau Central opened after Glenroy Cuffy, who represented the party in the 2019 general election, confirmed he would not seek re-election this cycle. Dr. Fontaine confirmed that Cuffy is no longer available to run, but expressed enthusiasm that the party has filled the spot with a highly qualified contender who has already begun engaging with constituents in the constituency.
Shillingford brings deep local roots to her campaign, a point Dr. Fontaine emphasized in his announcement. Born and raised in Roseau, she comes from a prominent, well-established local family. Her father is one of Dominica’s leading physicians, and her late brother Dorian Shillingford is widely recognized across the country for his tenure as general manager of the Dominica Water and Sewerage Company (DOWASCO). Beyond her family connections, her decades of professional work in public planning have given her intimate, first-hand knowledge of the community’s needs and infrastructure challenges, Dr. Fontaine noted.
As a trained planning professional with decades of public sector experience, Shillingford also brings a rare combination of expertise and institutional maturity to the UWP’s candidate slate, according to the party leader. Dr. Fontaine described her as a consummate professional, adding that party leadership is confident she will not only compete strongly for the Roseau Central seat but also lift the entire ticket by supporting fellow candidates and contributing meaningful, data-driven policy perspective to the party’s platform ahead of the election.