Dayton Baptiste is a Dominica

Dominica

Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...

n politician in the Dominica Labour Party

Dominica Labour Party

The Dominica Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Dominica.-History:Founded in 1955 by Phyllis Shand Allfrey and Emmanuel Christopher Loblack, it is the oldest political party in Dominica. It first contested general elections in 1961, winning seven of the eleven seats. In the next...

, and a former police officer in Antigua

Antigua

Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...

. He served briefly as an appointed senator in the Dominica House of Assembly in 2010, and has twice been an unsuccessful candidate for an elected seat.

Baptiste was born in Marigot, Dominica

Marigot, Dominica

Marigot is the largest settlement of Saint Andrew Parish in northeastern Dominica. The village has a population of 2,676 people, and is home to a Fisheries Complex as well as the island's main airport. It is the birthplace of local politician Edison James, and cricket umpire Billy...

, and graduated from the Marigot Foundation High School. He emigrated to Antigua in 1983, where he helped build houses for the homeless as part of a project for his church. Baptiste then served as an officer in the Royal Antigua Police Force for 18 years, achieving the rank of corporal. After leaving the police force, he remained in Antigua, where he joined the Fire Service and started a bakery.

Baptiste returned to Dominica to contest the Marigot constituency on the Labour Party ticket in the 2009 general election

Dominican general election, 2009

A parliamentary election was held in Dominica on 18 December 2009, to elect the 21 Representatives of the House of Assembly. The incumbent Dominica Labour Party increased its majority to 18 of 21 seats, winning a third term.-Key:...

. He lost to the opposition United Workers Party

United Workers' Party (Dominica)

The United Workers' Party is a centrist political party in Dominica. As of the 2009 general election, it is the only opposition party represented in the House of Assembly of Dominica, holding three of the twenty-one seats...

 candidate, former prime minister

Prime Minister of Dominica

The Prime Minister of Dominica is the head of government in the Commonwealth of Dominica. Nominally, the position was created on November 3, 1978 when Dominica gained independence from the United Kingdom...

 Edison James

Edison James

Edison Chenfil James was the prime minister of Dominica from June 14, 1995 to February 3, 2000 as well as the Member of Parliament for the Marigot constituency from 1990. He graduated from the Dominica Grammar School...

, on 18 December 2009, with 228 votes to James' 835 votes (21.4% to 78.6%). Baptiste was then appointed to serve as a senator in the House of Assembly on 4 February 2010. Baptiste resigned his seat to again contest the Marigot constituency in a by-election

Dominican by-election, 2010

A by-election was held on 9 July 2010 in Dominica, to fill two seats in the House of Assembly that were declared vacant. The contested seats were both won by significant margins by the incumbent candidates, who were members of the opposition United Workers' Party.Following the results of the 2009...

after James' seat was declared vacant due to the UWP boycott of the House of Assembly. Baptiste again lost to James on 9 July 2010, with 131 votes to James' 669 (16.4% to 83.8%).