Warmington announces councillors to represent SW St Catherine

Local Government elections are constitutional due February 2024 after being twice postponed within the last three years.

In the last few months both major political parties have increased activities on the ground across the island, suggesting Prime Minister and JLP President Andrew Holness intends to finally call Jamaicans to go to the parochial polls.

At a JLP Area Council 2 Conference on Sunday, the party declared its readiness for the parishes of Portland, St Thomas, St Mary and St Catherine by announcing representatives for all divisional seats.

Of particular interests to delegates of the party in the southwestern region of St Catherine was the declaration by Warmington, who is the constituency chairman for the party and Member of Parliament since 2002, that all four elected incumbents will represent their divisions at the polls.

Currently all four divisions in St Catherine South Western are held by the JLP.

Lloyd ‘Brass’ Grant, the party’s standard bearer for Old Harbour South and current minority leader in the St Catherine Municipal Corporation, has retained the trust and confidence of his superiors and delegates. Except for 2012 when he lost to the PNP’s Peter Davis, Grant has dominated the seat for the JLP for 16 of the last 20 years.

After tasting defeat in 2007 and 2012 at the hands of the now late Audley Campbell for the Old Harbour North Division, Keith Knight will be eying a second consecutive term for the JLP after defeating Basil Jackson in 2016, the last time Parish Council Elections were held.

Mark O’Connor has extended the party’s dominance in the Church Pen Division after replacing Gerval Weir who won on a JLP ticket in 2003.

In 2016 Steve Graham’s bow into representational politics saw him defeat Esworth ‘Kojack’ Frankson, who had fallen out of favour with Warmington and crossed the political aisle after securing the seat for the JLP in 2012. Graham, who gained public notoriety following his now infamous gaffe at a school graduation, has received the backing of the constituency’s top brass to contest the seat for the party.

Warmington’s declaration has put to bed wild speculations simmering that there might be possible changes to come among his councillor corps.

The next Parish Council Elections could be the fiercest yet in St Catherine South Western with all four PNP councillor aspirants being natives of their division, and qualified professionals with plenty youth on their sides.

Dr Kurt Waul, Obryan Leighton, Natalie Ho and Adrian Samuda, will contest the respective divisional seats of Old Harbour South, Old Harbour Central, Church Pen and Old Harbour North.