Succession squabble

There is a rift within the ranks of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in Manchester North Eastern over who should be its candidate in the upcoming general election as Audley Shaw exits the political arena at the end of his current term.

Shaw, who has been the parliamentary representative for the constituency since 1993, told Labourites at a local conference at Christiana High School on Sunday that he will not be seeking re-election.

In the same breath, he endorsed the councillor for the Craighead division, Omar Miller, to succeed him as the JLP’s candidate and prospective member of parliament, indicating at the same time that he could not do otherwise.

Shaw told the gathering, which ran simultaneously with a joint JLP constituency conference for Portland Eastern and Portland Western, that he thought “long and hard” about the decision.

He said Miller, who has been a councillor for almost 14 years, took over from his father in the division.

“So him and his father have served in the parish council for the Craighead division for a total of 35 years. I ask you now, why [wouldn’t] I support Omar to take over from me? Omar and his father combined in this council [are] longer than my 31 years as member of parliament,” said Shaw to rousing applause from supporters.

“I can tell you, as a member of parliament, Omar has been totally supportive of me and learning at my feet. He has learnt well, and something would be wrong with me if I did not support Omar as member of parliament ... . I hope that what I’ve said has been well received by you. God is good. He has made me serve the people of North East Manchester for over 31 years. Time come now for me to move it on to somebody else and I’m moving it on to Omar Miller,” said Shaw.

But his endorsement of Miller was upstaged by political aspirant Hidran McKulsky, the principal of Holmwood Technical High School in Manchester.

McKulsky was a candidate for the JLP in the February 2016 general election, contesting the Manchester Southern seat.

In an unsigned statement released publicly on Sunday, which appeared to be on McKulsky’s behalf, Labourites were told that the principal would be absent from the conference because he had not been officially informed of it.

“He was never invited to be a part of the planning meetings or to attend the conference. We believe that such a conference would have been the ideal opportunity to have the two aspirants be presented to the people of North Eastern Manchester by the member of parliament, and they be given an opportunity to share their plans for the development of the constituency,” the statement said.

It said the absence of this may be interpreted as the constituency-based planners following through on a deliberate plan to keep Mckulsky away from the workers and voters of the constituency.

It said McKulsky had been working in the constituency “creating life-changing opportunities for the youths, the middle-aged, and the elders of the constituency.

“We were made to understand that the MP may move[d] to endorse one of the aspirants at the conference as his preferred choice for member of parliament.

“Team Mckulsky is not deterred by such move as the party’s constitution does not automatically accept endorsed individuals as its constituency standard-bearers and candidates,” it said.

Yesterday, McKulsky said he could not immediately comment when contacted by The Gleaner because he was in a meeting.

Meanwhile, Miller said he was advised by the JLP’s secretariat that the process has to run its course and that he should avoid interviews.

Michael Stern – the deputy leader of Area Council Three, which comprises Manchester, St Ann and Clarendon – told The Gleaner yesterday that two applications have been submitted for the ticket so far, but no decision has been made.

He said the constitution of the party will be followed in determining who succeeds Shaw.

“Endorsements will be happening once people go out and show their faces to the people. We won’t get involved in who endorses who. We cannot do that and that is not how elections run,” he said, stressing that there is a process for candidate selection.

He said it is a model embraced by both the JLP and the opposition People’s National Party (PNP).

“We do polling, we do other things, and then you check to see who is the best person and then you submit it to the Operations Committee meeting and the leader will review along with the general secretary. So, it’s a process. Two candidates are vying for the seat and anybody can endorse who they want,” said Stern.

He said what is taking place is a jostle for support.

There are concerns about whether the JLP will hold on to Manchester North Eastern, a seat last won by the PNP in 1989.

A young Shaw was defeated by the PNP’s Calvin Lyn by 210 votes in 1989, but reversed his fortunes in 1993, defeating the PNP’s Kenneth Neita by 95 votes.

He has maintained a sizeable lead since that time, though raised eyebrows in 2011 when he won by 573 votes, defeating the PNP’s Valenton Wint. The lead increased again in the 2016 general election when he beat Wint by 1,647 votes.

In 2020, when the general election was called during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shaw defeated the PNP’s Donald Jackson by 3,907 votes.

But for the first time since 1986, the PNP won the Walderston and Christiana divisions together in Manchester. Christiana has been a JLP stronghold for many years in Manchester North Eastern, but fell to the PNP in the local government elections in February this year.

Based on data from the local government elections, the PNP had a deficit of 63 votes in the overall constituency.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com