Panton DR. DAVID Panton, 28, is a member of the Jamaica Labour Party's Century 21 Mission Group and the party's candidate for Manchester Central.
He came to prominence as a JLP recruit when party leader Edward Seaga named him as a member of the group in March, 2000. Mr. Seaga described the group as "all bright, young professionals" recruited into the party to provide intellectual leadership.
A Rhodes Scholar, Harvard law school graduate, author of the book "Michael Manley: The Great Transformation", and an investment banker, Dr. Panton was assigned the portfolio of globalisation in the group, which has been given the mission of informing the party's approach to 21st century politics and economic development.
In November, 1999, he married Lisa Hanna, a former "Miss Jamaica"/"Miss World", in New York.
Dr. Panton was the chairman of the Anti-Dumping Commission, the government agency responsible for protecting the local market from the dumping of goods from overseas exporters.
He was also a member of the investment committee of the Caribbean Investment Fund, regarded as the largest investment fund in the Caribbean after securing between US$35 million and US$40 million in mid-1999. The fund was set up through the agreement of CARICOM countries and was granted exclusive rights to operate as a regional venture capital fund.
Explaining his reasons for joining the JLP, Dr. Panton says: "The main reasons that I entered political service is to continue the tradition instilled by my parents of serving the community and the country. As such I have offered myself as a Member of Parliament candidate for Central Manchester, where I was born, raised and went to school. I believe that I have much to contribute to the people of Manchester, particularly in attracting investments so as to provide jobs and economic opportunities, especially for our young people."
