File
James Robertson (left) and Don Creary are credited with reviving the JLP's fortunes in the east.

In the 2002 General Election in St Thomas, one Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) seat prevailed against a sea of People's National Party (PNP) orange in the east. The West St Thomas seat which was won by James Robertson was the sole green bulwark after a decade of PNP domination of the parish and the broader JLP Area Council Two, which consists of St Mary, with an even longer tradition of PNP domination; Portland and St. Catherine, including Portmore.

Prior to 2003 in St Mary, for example, the JLP held only one parish council division - Carron Hall - compared to 12 for the PNP.

Complete reversal

Today there is a complete reversal in the east, with JLP dominance now exceeding anything in the history of contemporary Jamaican politics. The JLP now controls 10 divisions to the PNP's three in St Mary, eight to two in St Thomas and seven to two in Portland. In the mid-island parish of St Catherine the picture is 23 to 17 in favour of the JLP, including the mayoral position in Portmore and St Catherine. Nationally, Area Council Two has 50 per cent of JLP mayors.

To explain the quantum shift, one has to go back to 2001 when a group of youngish activists including Robertson, Don Creary, Robert Montague, Tom Tavares-Finson and others, led an offensive that was to culminate in a JLP victory in the traditionally PNP North East St Ann seat in a famous by-election that saw the emergence of Shahine Robinson in national politics.

Fired up by the possibilities inherent in that victory, the team, later to be dubbed the 'Young Turks', turned its attention to the east while simultaneously challenging and eventually prevailing against then JLP leader Edward Seaga's dominance of the party, culminating in the installation of Bruce Golding whom they helped to woo back to the fold from the nascent National Democratic Movement in 2002.

Excellent organisation

Political commentator Troy Caine attributes the JLP's success in Area Council Two to a combination of excellent organisational work largely focused on communities in the region; poor representation by the PNP over the years; as well as massive economic fallout, especially in St Mary, Portland and St Thomas resulting from the demise of traditional agricultural crops, namely sugar and bananas, as well as the closure of the Goodyear factory which was badly handled by successive PNP administrations.

"There was the very effective leadership of Robertson and the exceptional organisational talent of Bobby Montague which engaged the communities against the backdrop of years of low-quality representation by the PNP, including very few MPs of ministerial quality," notes Caine. "The swing really became apparent from the local government poll in 2003. If that had been a general election, all two seats in St Thomas and Portland and the three in St Mary could have gone to the JLP."

He claims that the JLP missed the boat in the 2007 General Election by not placing stronger candidates to go up against the likes of Dr Fenton Ferguson and Dr Donald Rhodd in St Thomas and Portland, respectively, which the JLP had won on a divisional basis in 2003.

Most neglected parishes

Citing the eastern parishes as among the most neglected nationally, Caine pointed to the fact that they lay in the main hurricane pathway and bore the brunt of the most recent hurricanes, namely Gilbert, Ivan and Dean, and suffered too from periodic flooding which only exacerbated the problems of economic stagnation and poor infrastructure, especially roads in the region.

The lack of any meaningful attempt to creat economic activity by the PNP government and growing poverty also created fertile ground for the JLP inroads, he noted.

But while Caine posits that the shift in the region is significant, another political watcher, Dr Paul Ashley, thinks it is transient.

"It is not a significant shift," said Ashley emphasising that the 3,000-odd vote majority by the JLP nationally meant that the party did not have a large enough lead to claim dominance anywhere.

Economic potential

However, chairman of Area Council Two, James Robertson, who is the minister responsible for driving development out of the Office of the Prime Minister, is confident that the region will remain loyal to his party while noting that the economic potential of the parishes will be realised because of the focus the JLP government will bring to bear to the area.

Robertson, who recently opened an ackee and food processing processing plant in Yallahs, St Thomas, says his party is the one that will unlock the true entrepreneurial spirit of the Jamaican people and bring prosperity to forgotten rural areas.

"Our party understands business," notes the successful entrepreneur. He adds that attracting both local and foreign investment to the area was critical to improving the fortunes of its residents.