Alexis Zook Jeffers (born 25 November 1968) is a

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...

politician with the

Concerned Citizens' Movement The Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) is a Nevis-based political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Led by Mark Brantley, it is currently the largest party in Nevis, holding all three Nevisian seats in the National Assembly and three out of five s ...

. He represents the Saint James constituency in the

Nevis Island Assembly The Nevis Island Assembly is the devolved local legislative body for the island of Nevis within the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of St Kitts and Nevis. The Assembly has a total of eight members. Five are directly elected in single-member Co ...

, and has also stood as a candidate for election to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

Career

Before entering politics, Jeffers worked in a car rental company and founded a swimming pool cleaning company. In late 2009, Jeffers announced that he would stand for election to represent Nevis #11 District in the January 2010 general election. At the time, he held

dual citizenship Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

of Saint Kitts and Nevis and the United States. Under Article 28 of Saint Kitts and Nevis' 1983 constitution, a person is not qualified for election to the National Assembly "if he is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state". However, whether dual citizens could be nominated was a matter of debate until the passage of the National Assembly Elections Act (2009), which required all candidates for elections to swear at the time of their nomination that they lacked citizenship in any other country. As Saint Kitts and Nevis did not have a United States embassy, Jeffers had to go to

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

to renounce U.S. citizenship. His renunciation was confirmed by a notice in the U.S.' ''

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the government gazette, official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every wee ...

'' in February 2010. However, he lost the election to Patrice Nisbett of the

Nevis Reformation Party The Nevis Reformation Party is a Nevis-based political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds none of the eleven seats in the National Assembly. It is the official opposition party on Nevis, holding two of five seats in the Ne ...

, who would go on to become

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs. Though he lost to Nisbett in the federal election, Jeffers had more success in Nevis Island elections, beating Nesbitt by 37 votes to win the Saint James seat in the

in July 2011. During his second term there, Jeffers spoke out a number of times against alleged irregularities in the elections process. In the first sitting of the new term of the Nevis Island Assembly in October, Jeffers and his fellow CCM members staged a walkout, boycotting parliamentary business for that day. In June 2012, he called for Saint James Registration Officer Clayton Mills to step down, accusing him of political bias with regards to his handling of 108 voters on the electoral rolls in the district, whom the CCM claimed to be wrongfully registered. He also spoke out against fuel surcharges. Jeffers faced off against Nisbett again in Nevis Island elections in 2012. In his campaign, he attacked Nisbett for the many roles he was playing in government, stating that "no man can serve two masters" and urging him to step down from his position as Attorney-General if he wanted to contest the election.

Personal life

Jeffers did his early education in Nevis at the St James Primary School, Gingerland Secondary School, and Charlestown Secondary School Sixth Form College. He went on to the United States for tertiary education, where he attended

Broward College Broward College is a public college based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Miramar, Florida, Pembroke Pines, Florida and Davie, Florida. It is a member of the Florida College System, and offers several associate and baccalaureate degree programs. H ...

and then

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffers, Alexis 1968 births Living people Broward College alumni Florida Atlantic University alumni People from Nevis Former United States citizens Concerned Citizens' Movement politicians