Meadows takes his campaign to church

WESTERN BUREAU:

Former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) senator, Dennis Meadows, who has been campaigning relentlessly to be selected as the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) standard-bearer for the Trelawny North constituency in the next general election, took his campaign to church on Sunday when he joined worshippers at the William Knibb Baptist Church in Falmouth.

Meadows, who is seeking to get the nod for the seat ahead of Suzette Brown, who has also applied to the party’s leadership to be its representative in the constituency, spoke of the shift in his approach this time around.

“In my last campaign, I did not include God, nor did I seek His blessings,” said the upbeat Meadows. “This time it will be different as I hope to visit as many churches within the constituency as I can. God will be my guide going forward.”

Meadows has twice contested the seat unsuccessfully for the JLP, and there is a perception that had he not stepped aside to facilitate Tova Hamilton, who won the seat for the JLP in the last general election, he could well have tasted victory, especially against the background of the national swing against the PNP.

Brown, a former PNP councillor in St James, has adopted a less bombastic approach to her campaign, but is quietly confident that her work on the ground will earn her the party’s nod for the seat.

“I plan to have an intimate connection with the people. I feel that I can reach the people and hear their cry, which will help me going forward,” said Brown, who has been quite active, staging small district meetings all over the constituency.

Based on the rumblings on the ground in the constituency, it appears that Meadows, who has campaign flyers out in the public spaces in the constituency, is enjoying the support of many high-profile PNP supporters, and appears to be winning the public relations aspect of the campaigning.

“Mr Meadows is a charismatic man, if you listen to him you are going to like him. He is the first former Labourite that I have seen PNP supporters welcome with such open arms,” a popular comrade told The Gleaner. “I am not saying that the PNP is going to select him but based on the work he is doing on the ground, he is giving himself every chance.”

Fabian Davis, who was initially eyeing the Trelawny North seat and had expressed an interest in contesting the seat for the PNP, has stepped away and has instead turned his focus to Trelawny South, where he hopes to unseat the JLP’s Marissa Dalrymple-Philibert, a long-serving member of parliament in that constituency.

Dr Pauline Foster-Grant, the PNP’s regional representative for Trelawny South, says Davis has put in an application and is waiting to be interviewed.