Spanish Town mayor not confident that party can retain the corporation

Today is nomination day for the Local Government Elections, to be held on November 28, but the People's National Party (PNP) is not confident that it can retain the St Catherine Municipal Corporation.

"The electors have got fickle and unpredictable, therefore, one cannot be sure of how the vote will go. Case in point is the Donald Trump-Hillary Clinton race. No pollster had Trump winning, yet still he has won. I am, however, of the belief that we would have done a whole lot to deserve a chance, but we will just wait," said Norman Scott, mayor of Spanish Town, who has been representing the Greendale Division for the last 18 years.

MODEL AGENCY

He, however, lists the achievements such as taking the council from a deficit and putting it on a path of recovery, making it a model agency for many.

"When we took over in March 2012, persons could not even get the statutory deductions. Many cheques were dishonoured and staff working areas were not up to scratch. We have changed all that and things are much better. So those are some of the changes we have made," Scott continued.

Scott implored the members to be forthright and honest in their campaigning, and he urged them to respect the persons whose votes they were soliciting.

Scott was addressing the final general monthly meeting of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation before the elections, held on Wednesday at the corporation's chambers at Emancipation Square, Spanish Town, St Catherine.

COUNCILLORS NOT

SEEKING RE-ELECTION

It was revealed at the meeting that five sitting councillors, including the PNP's Horace Brown of the Bridgeport division, Donnel Marriott of the Mount Industry division, the JLP's Barrington Bailey of the Ensom City division, Winston Chambers of Guys Hill, and Alvin Beckford of the Frasers Content division, would not be seeking re-election.

There will, therefore, be five new faces in the 41-membership corporation.

Scott said that the boundary changes being sought for St Catherine should go through after discussion with the Electoral Commission of Jamaica as has been the norm since 1979.

The St Catherine Municipal Corporation is the largest in the island, with 41 divisions, followed by the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation, with 40 divisions.