Bitter split

An “acrimonious” relationship between councillor for the Mocho division, Romaine Morris, and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Member of Parliament for Clarendon North Central Robert Nesta Morgan is what Morris said contributed to his decision to cross the floor yesterday and join the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP).

Morris, who is a first-term councillor for the division, told The Gleaner that he supported Morgan in his bid for the seat in 2016 against his party counterpart, Pearnel Charles Jr.

But after being selected and subsequently winning the election, he said Morgan’s attitude towards him changed, with the MP displaying despotism in how matters in the Mocho division are addressed.

“Before he (Morgan) even sworn in, he’s letting me know that I need to go,” Morris said. “He’s telling me who to talk to, where to go, the projects to do, significant restrictions … and that disenfranchise the people because I have projects I need to get done because I know that I don’t want to spend my entire life in politics.”

But Morgan has dismissed the claims of dictatorship as a “PNP narrative”, telling The Gleaner that Morris’ decision was not surprising as his “background is in the PNP”.

“We heard about it. We knew of his plans, which were long in coming. He has consistently been undermining me as a member of Parliament and disrupting the division, so we are not surprised that he is gone,” Morgan said.

According to him, he shares an excellent relationship with his other councillor, but Morris was not a team player and showed “a general lack of cooperation”, and “a level of divisiveness”.

Morgan pointed to a Blue Dot poll commissioned by the JLP to ascertain the electability of its candidates for the upcoming local government elections, which found that Morris had a 37 per cent less chance of being elected, compared to his party counterpart, Clement Alves.

Although both candidates shared equal awareness across the division, at 55 per cent, Morris polled a 27 per cent likelihood of being selected, compared to Alves, who polled 64 per cent.

However, the margin narrowed when the question of who was best suited for councillor was posed, with Morris being favoured by 20 per cent of respondents, compared to 24 per cent who favoured Alves.

The poll was conducted from November 1-11 last year, with 356 participants, and has a margin of error of five per cent.

According to Morgan, this was the mechanism that informed the party’s selection process.

However, Morris has rubbished the findings of the poll, telling The Gleaner that it is the “total opposite” of what he is hearing on the ground.

VOTER SENTIMENTS

He pointed to the support he was given at the municipal corporation meeting yesterday when he announced his decision as an indication of the sentiments of voters.

“I invited, like, five persons to come down, and when I looked, it was about 200 people out there, clad in my shirt – in both PNP and Labour Party shirts – saying that ... I should be the councillor of the division because they appreciate the work that I have been doing within the space, and so forth,” he said.

“But nevertheless, the people will speak. The people at the end of the day … the voice of the people, and, come election day, that’s what the people of the division will be able to express, the right poll,” he added.

PNP caretaker for Clarendon North Central Dr Aujae Dixon shared that consensus within the PNP is that Morris was the “best option” for the division and the party is banking on his popularity and dedication to Mocho to win them the seat in the upcoming local government elections.

“He believes in the Mocho division. This for him is more than politics because even before he became a councillor, he was always a community man, and these are persons that I am open and willing to work with,” he said.

Five councillors have defected from the PNP to join the JLP after being elected on its 2016 ticket. Two JLP councillors have since joined the PNP.

The local government elections are expected to be held next month after being postponed three times.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com