JLP councillors in Trelawny Southern not tempted by vacant House seat

None of the three Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillors in Trelawny Southern is willing to step into the vacancy created by the resignation of former Member of Parliament Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert.

Dalrymple-Philibert, a JLP member who was serving in her fourth consecutive term, resigned on September 21 after the tabling of a damning Integrity Commission report and ruling on matters surrounding her statutory declarations.

However, with a byelection expected soon, the JLP's other sitting political representatives in the area – Collen Gager, Desmond Smith and Nicole Nugent – are shying away from taking up the mantle.

“It is good to serve the people, but I’m satisfied with being a councillor," Gager, who is in his second term as mayor of Falmouth, told The Gleaner.

"Being a politician is not easy. It is difficult to say no to some of the requests from the people in my division. Can you imagine what it would be like as MP?" he added.

He told The Gleaner how difficult it is to serve the people.

“I once operated a shop to serve the people. I sold almost everything the people needed. I had to close it down because there were more beggars than buyers. I will work with whichever candidate comes along, but it will not be Junior Gager,” he said.

Nugent is in her first term as councillor.

“I never thought that I would ever be asked about an interest in becoming MP. My plans include becoming fully involved as ambassador in Vienna, Austria, finishing my school for the disabled and continuing to serve my Albert Town constituents. At no point am I ready to accept that Mama D has resigned. Sometimes we women need a break, and so I expect her to be back. Hence, no vacancy, and no thought of me becoming MP,” Nugent said.

Desmond Smith is a yam farmer who represents the Lorrimers division.

“The thought of becoming an MP was, and is, the farthest thing from my thoughts. For one thing, the legacy of Mama D is too big a burden for me to carry. I will want to continue being the JLP standard-bearer in Lorrimers but that is as far as it will go,” Smith told The Gleaner.

Efforts to get a comment from JLP General Secretary Dr Horace Chang failed, as his phone rang without an answer.