‘Home girl’ attorneys in line for Hanover Western political showdown

WESTERN BUREAU:

When the next general election is called, there is expected to be a unique contest in Hanover Western, as two “home girls”, both of whom are practising attorneys in the parish of their birth, will be up against each other.

Member of Parliament Tamika Davis, who took the constituency by storm for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the 2020 general election by beating the People’s National Party (PNP) stalwart Ian Hayles, will not be up against Hayles the next time around.

Instead, if the PNP goes with the selection of its delegates in the constituency, Davis will be facing Heatha Miller-Bennett.

Davis, who is from the deep rural community of Middlesex, Hanover Western, attended the primary school in that area and then went on to Rusea’s High School, before going to The University of the West Indies to study law.

Miller-Bennett, on the other hand, is from the Kendal area of Hanover Western and the person the PNP delegates in the constituency recently elected to carry the party’s torch in the next general election.

Miller-Bennett was elected as constituency chairman for the PNP at a constituency conference held on Sunday, October 8, 2023.

VERY UPBEAT

In an interview with The Gleaner, Davis was very upbeat about retaining the seat for the JLP, claiming that the amount of work she has put in since she has held the post as member of parliament (MP speaks for itself.

She added that some of the projects have been very visible to her constituents, and went on to name the pilot project done under the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, through which major improvements were carried out in the community of Chambers Pen, as one of the legacy projects of her tenure.

Over $200 million was spent in Chambers Pen in Hanover Western, through a rural development pilot programme to improve the social, physical and infrastructural aspects of that community.

Under the programme, major road rehabilitation took place, as well as improvements in electricity distribution through the Rural Electrification Programme, improvements in water collection and distribution, rehabilitation of the primary school, refurbishing of the community centre and playing field, and improvements through scheduled garbage collection, among other things.

“I have been able to get some roads done that for years have never been fixed, and I have the Chambers Pen project, which was a pilot project which started in Hanover Western, which even now, as I speak about it, I still get excited,” she told The Gleaner.

“Hanover Western would not ordinarily be on a list for projects as big as this (Chambers Pen). Usually, one would be at home watching the news and it would be taking place in some other parish,” Davis argued.

She also mentioned several other projects she has carried out since being in office, to include improvements on basic and primary schools across the parish.

“I am unapologetic about how much money I spend on education through my Community Development Fund (CDF), because I always believe in the power of a good education, and I know the struggles people are facing,” she stated.

With four local government seats in the Hanover Western constituency and only one sitting JLP councillor in the Hanover Municipal Corporation from that constituency, Davis is predicting a change in the status quo when the next local government election is called in 2024, stating that she will be working closely with all her councillor candidates to assist them in taking home their seat.

Checks by The Gleaner revealed that only three individuals, one candidate and two aspirants are in place at the local government level for the JLP within the constituency, with Davis stating confidently that the fourth aspirant should be in place before the end of October.

Davis listed the procurement process as the biggest hurdle towards implementing projects across the constituency, arguing that, if things could be done more speedily, she could have achieved much more.

“It can get frustrating, it is a tedious process and I understand that it is in place to ensure transparency and accountability, and I could not in any way want to suggest that we do away with that system, but what I want to see is whether we could add expediency to it,” she opined.

NOT DAUNTED

Miller-Bennett is not daunted by what took place in the constituency in the past, telling The Gleaner that her confidence level is high with regard to her chances in the next general election.

One of the daughters of a previous deputy mayor of Lucea, Fredricus Miller, Miller-Bennett, argued that serving the people has always been a part of her character.

“Service is a hallmark in our family. I have been serving for a long time, being a civil servant for a very long time before I went into private practice as an attorney, which again is serving. So transitioning to representational politics is just going to a higher level to serve,” she told The Gleaner.

Claiming that she is a Hanoverian above all things, Miller-Bennett stated that she wants the parish to be a place where people want to live, work and do business, and not be a forgotten parish.

“Hanover has so many resources that we can tap into, and I want to help Hanover to grow, and, in doing that through different means, wealth creation, innovation, a shared vision and honest leadership,” she noted.

Miller-Bennett expressed the hope that the other PNP party processes that she will have to undergo before ratification and announcement of her candidacy will take place very soon.

Turning her attention to the upcoming local government election and the candidates in place in the Hanover Western constituency, she pointed out that she has a good relationship with the three sitting councillors now in place - Marvel Sewell in the Green Island division, Mayor Sheridan Samuels in the Cauldwell division and Daren Barnes in the Riverside division.

“They are strong councillors and they have all unreservedly committed their support to me. They have indicated this to the party and they have indicated this to me, and have been by my side to date,” she said.

In expressing a view of what the constituents of Hanover Western can expect from her, Miller-Bennett said: “Look forward to honest leadership, look forward to sharing in the vision of building Hanover, look forward to helping to bring Hanover to another level.”

She noted that she will always be open to new ideas, new ways of doing things, while balancing the needs of the people of Hanover.

bryan.miller@gleanerjm.com