Nearly two years without a councillor ...
Greater Portmore East disappointed with election delay
Published:Monday | February 27, 2023 | 1:21 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
Not having a councillor for the last 20 months has not caused any great concern among residents of the Greater Portmore East Division who say they are fully satisfied with the efforts of the Portmore Municipal Corporation since the passing of Yvonne McCormack. But residents have expressed disappointment that they will have to wait longer to elect a new representative.
McCormack, who represented the division, died on May 14, 2021, after fighting multiple myeloma since 2014 and breast cancer since 2011.
The division has remained vacant since as no by-election has been held.
On Sunday, residents with whom The Gleaner spoke said that although they are generally satisfied with the municipality’s responsiveness to their issues, they are not pleased that the Government has moved to delay the local government polls, which were due this week, for up to a further 12 months.
The Greater Portmore East Division is one of some 15 divisions islandwide that are now vacant as the councillors have either resigned, died, or have been elected members of parliament.
On Sunday, the Greater Portmore East residents said that Hochoy Michael Gordon and Portmore Mayor Leon Thomas have been attending to their needs since the passing of McCormack.
“Even before she died, Hochoy came around and was doing her work. ... Hochoy came out when Yvonne wasn’t feeling well and ensured that things happened. Since she died, they still come around. They ensure that the park is maintained, and we can call them at any time to tell them our problems, and we are assured they will come out and assist us,” Cynthia Watson, a resident of 6 West, told The Gleaner outside her home.
Watson and her relatives were not satisfied that the polls, which became due in November 2020, have been delayed a fourth time.
“Dem (the Jamaica Labour Party, JLP) know dem nah go win. That’s why dem postpone it. Mi go fi mi ID and mi ready fi vote,” she said.
Sharon Caesar, a resident of 7 East, also had nothing but praise for Gordon.
“When he comes around and we complain, we see results. We never had our garbage being picked up regularly [after the death of McCormack]. He came to our citizens’ association meeting with the persons responsible, and they explained why the collection wasn’t regularly being done, and they fixed the problem. We now have regular garbage collection,” Caesar told The Gleaner.
“When a tree was to come cut down, he [Gordon] came and ensured that the tree was cut by the people who should do it,” she said.
Throughout the division, the sentiment was the same.
Last week, Mayor Thomas expressed his disappointment at the protracted delay for the local government polls, expressing concern that residents in Greater Portmore East and other vacant divisions across the country could be without a direct representative for another year.
“We need the people within that division to have somebody that they can relate to and represent their needs,” Thomas said at a press conference called by the PNP national caucus of councillors.
“I’m saying to the administration that time come for you to have the election,” he added.
The PNP caucus of councillors has scoffed at the reasons put forward by the Government for delaying the elections, charging that the real reason is that the JLP is not in a position to win.
However, in tabling the bill to postpone the polls last week, the Government said it was not afraid to face the electorate.
The Government has cited among reasons for the latest delay, which was approved by Parliament last week, “the high level of monetary cost of holding the elections” and “building resilience to possible future shocks as well as setting the country on a path of sustained growth”.
“Another argument being proffered is Portmore becoming a parish before the election is held. This is also another blatant disregard for the participatory democratic process that we are fighting so hard to build,” charged Spanish Town Mayor Norman Scott last week.
The Government noted the need for more consultation on this matter last week.
“The establishment of the municipality was done through a consultative effort, where the citizens of the municipality participated. Therefore, any changes must afford the same level of participation,” Scott stressed.
“It took approximately two years and a few months for those discussions across the municipality with the residents of Portmore and the Government of the day to put it together, and in 2003, we got the opportunity to have a municipality within Portmore,” Thomas pointed out.
“The people enjoy the service that they get within the municipality, and they get the opportunity to vote directly for their mayor,” he said, expressing concern that if this is to be changed, residents must have their say.
Thomas said that stakeholders within the municipality have already made it clear that they would not support any move to have them relinquish the right to vote directly for their mayor even as they harbour concerns over the proposed parish boundaries.