JLP brings out party bigwigs as NE St Ann by-election draws near

As the countdown to the North East St Ann by-election continues, the three candidates vying for the coveted seat are likely fine-tuning their campaign activities with less than a week to go for the polling to get under way.

Although the most likely outcome might be already known, the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Matthew Samuda, a former Cabinet Minister and Government Senator, is squaring off against the United Independents' Congress' (UIC) Chase Neil and independent candidate David Fritz Anderson, also known as 'Five Pound'.

Neil, a St Mary native, is an educator by profession, while Anderson is a former member of the People's National Party (PNP).

With the nation's attention focused on issues relative to the Integrity Commission's (IC) eye-opening investigation report into the statutory declarations and financial affairs of Prime Minister Andrew Holness, activities surrounding the by-election appear to be in the background.

But at least one of the candidates, Samuda, appears to be intensifying his efforts to get out the support of labourites to seemingly send a signal that the party's base remains active ahead of the next general elections, which are due by next September.

While the other two candidates have seemingly not shown much of their campaign activities on social media, Samuda and the JLP's parochial councillors in North East St Ann have been highlighting some aspects of their collective campaigning.

In fact, the JLP's North East St Ann Facebook page has been active in that regard.

As heavy rains lash sections of the island due to disturbed weather brought on by Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine on Monday, Samuda was busy campaigning.

"Rain or shine, we're committed to the people of North East St Ann!" said a post from North East St Ann Facebook page.

It was part of a caption for several photographs of Samuda greeting his supporters and residents of the constituency.

Some of the photographs show Samuda being accompanied by JLP stalwarts like Local Government and Community Development Minister, Desmond McKenzie, and current Councillor and former Deputy Mayor for St Ann's Bay, Dalas Dickenson.

Monday’s post from the JLP's North East St Ann page highlighted that, "The weather won’t stop us from pushing for prosperity. We’re out here, working hard to earn your support and build a better future together.

"On  September 30, let’s vote for leadership that stands with you, no matter the challenge," it added.

Chase Neil

Other councillors like Michael Belnavis of the Ocho Rios Division, who is the current St Ann's Bay Mayor; Ian Isaacs of the Exchange Division; and Genevor Gordon-Bailey of the Lime Hall Division, have all been spotted walking along with Samuda on the campaign trail, or have attended various spot meetings across the constituency.

So, too, has Deputy Prime Minister and JLP General Secretary, Horace Chang; Member of Parliament (MP) for Eastern St Thomas, Michelle Charles; Western St Mary MP and JLP Chairman, Robert Montague; South Western St Ann MP, Zavia Mayne; North East Manchester MP, Audley Shaw; South Western St Elizabeth MP, Floyd Green; and Parliamentary Secretary Abka Fitz-Henley, among many others.

At one such JLP spot meeting in Exchange last Thursday, Samuda indicated that plans are in the pipeline to address several road and water issues in that specific division.

He pointed to Pumpkin Street in the area, which he said is to be paved, "because people of Exchange deserve good road.

"Next week (this week), five kilometres of... ductile iron pipes will be delivered to Exchange... Exchange has suffered from bad water supply for too long," Samuda declared.

Taking a swipe at the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) when they were in power, Samuda claimed that, "Shahine Robinson (a former MP for North East St Ann constituency) submitted projects year after year under the PNP (Administration) and dem wouldn't sort out Exchange.

"So labourites, I can tell you tonight, water problem is coming to an end!" the JLP candidate said.

Samuda has stated that part of his mission is to also reunite labourites in the constituency, this after some party supporters were upset by what they labelled as the lack of adequate political representation by the immediate former MP, Marsha Smith.

She was selected as the JLP's candidate for the 2020 General Elections, which was held four months after the death of former MP Robinson in May of that year.

But after she continued the JLP's hold on the seat, Smith faced several protests from constituents who called for her to go. Smith resigned in early September of this year, resulting in the calling of a ‘snap’ by-election there.

The PNP opted not to field a candidate in the seat, but Samuda renewed his criticisms of that decision on Thursday night.

According to him, the PNP does not stand a chance to shake the dominance of the JLP in any election.

David Fritz 'Five Pound' Anderson

"If I was them (the PNP), I would continue not to contest elections because the people of Jamaica do not want the PNP. And that is a fact," he suggested.

Although not contesting the by-election, the JLP’s political hierarchy at the spot meeting continued to further hammer the PNP.

For example, Floyd Green, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, criticised last week's PNP annual conference.

"Mi see dem keep meeting last week, and out of all of the meeting, nobody is talking about any ideas, nobody is talking about any plans! The only thing people a talk 'bout a who guh and who nuh guh!" Green told the labourites.

"What type of party is that?" he questioned.

Green was also critical of the PNP's promise that it will fix the island's farm roads if it wins the next general elections.

"So what did you do when you were there for 20-plus years... Yuh know in last year alone, the Labour Party fix 71 farm roads across the length and breadth of Jamaica," Green stated.

The two other candidates in the by-election are also campaigning, but not much of their activities have been  captured on social media.

JLP supporters have been contending that Anderson, in particular, is not an independent candidate, as he tried unsuccessfully to be the PNP's candidate for the St Ann's Bay Division in February's Local Government Elections.

On Nomination Day for the North East St Ann by-election, Samuda insisted that the PNP is contesting the elections.

"The PNP is very much running; the independent candidate is the former caretaker for St Ann's Bay. This is the usual theatrics we expect from the Opposition, but today (Nomination Day) is not about that," Samuda told reporters then.

Interestingly, some PNP bloggers have been rallying their colleagues in the constituency to vote for Anderson, especially in light of the IC report relative to Holness.

Anderson, who described himself as "a son of the soil", insisted on Nomination Day that he was not parachuted by anyone into the seat to contest it.

He contended that he entered the race to bring about change.

"The state of the community, a lot of the facilities are really deplorable. The children have no place to play, and it starts with the children. That's why I think we have the problems we do (here in North East St Ann)," Anderson told reporters then.

Continuing, he said: "Water and electricity, in modern days, are basic things, yet still we see developments going on elsewhere and water pipes being laid from Ocho Rios right back to Priory, and yet still we bypass the communities.

"We need to wake up," he indicated.

The UIC's Chase Neil, the last of the three candidates to be nominated on September 11, said he entered the race to "give the people of North East St Ann a voice".

Meanwhile, Director of Elections, Glasspole Brown, has publicly indicated that there are 27 polling station locations in the constituency and 146 polling divisions.

The polls are expected to open at 7am on September 30.

Brown said there are about "40,346 registered electors" in the constituency. It is likely that most of that number will not vote, especially with the PNP not fielding a candidate for the contest.