By Troy Caine, Contributor 
Edward Seaga in the early days speaking to the mass.
The following is the final of a two-part article titled "Edward Seaga and West Kingston, a 40-year Love Affair", by Troy Caine. Part one was carried in yesterday's Gleaner.
BY 1959, TWO familiar events which had their advent in the elections of that year -- bogus voting and constituency gerrymandering (which saw a sizeable portion of West Kingston sliced off to help to create the West Central Kingston seat for Iris King) -- were to contribute to Shearer's demise as a one-termer in the area. His opponent would be a tailor, Hubert R. Wallace, who had won a Central Kingston division for the PNP in the 1956 municipal elections. After a bitter contest in which Wallace prevailed by a mere 99 votes and 50 per cent of the poll, Shearer was beaten both politically and physically and even his car was burnt on the street. PNP power was back in West Kingston but it would be short-lived, as Wallace too would fade into political oblivion after only a term and make way for the one who was destined to make West Kingston the most popular constituency in Jamaica.
Edward Seaga, who ended his sojourn at Buxton Town in 1955, had by now turned his attention to the West Kingston slum areas of Back-O-Wall, Dungle and Ackee Walk, still in pursuance of his sociological research. His arrival in the area in the late 1950s which baffled family and friends when it was learnt that he oftentimes lived in the slums among the people, turned out to be the turning point in his career and in his life, although up to that point, the idea of politics had still not entered his mind. In fact, he had also become quite successful in the recording business, producing in 1959, the classic, 'Oh Manny Oh' by Higgs & Wilson on his WIRL label, as well as perhaps the first hit record by Byron Lee & The Dragonaires: 'Dumplings' in 1961.
"I really didn't plan to become involved in politics," he later recalled. "What happened was that I started to express opinions on problems to the press and as a result I received calls from political leaders who wanted to meet me. It was at that time, around 1958, that I had formal contact with the Labour Party, although when I was a young boy I had always had a predisposition towards that party".
Seaga's first involvement with the JLP would be his appointment to the Upper House by Sir Alexander Bustamante, following the party's second defeat in 1959. By the following year when Manley announced that a Referendum would be held in September 1961 to determine whether Jamaica remained in the West Indies Federation (which began only in 1958), he was approached by the party to supervise a constituency. Bustamante, who had long agitated against Jamaica's presence in the Federation, immediately aligned the JLP to the "No" vote, although a few prominent members such as Donald Sangster and Rose Leon were unabashed federalists. But in Seaga, Busta found an avid anti-federalist like himself and was far less shocked than the others in the party when Seaga requested the West Kingston constituency. This would be the first test of his mettle as a political organiser and he truly rose to the occasion, his role becoming more national during the campaign and was instrumental in getting the party to formalise the "bell" as its permanent symbol.
Referendum Day turned out to be a gigantic victory for Busta and the JLP, winning in 31 of the 45 constituencies and with 54 per cent of the voters rejecting the "federal folly". In West Kingston, Seaga had his first taste of political success when the constituency not only became one on Busta's victory-wagon with 57 per cent voting against Federation, but it was also one of only three (of the 10) Corporate Area seats which voted "No". Politically, it seemed that Eddie Seaga had arrived! But not quite - that was only his preliminary test for what was to come the following year.
He had done such a good job in the Referendum that he was now asked by the party to take a seat and run for office. Still undecided as to whether politics was something he seriously wanted to do (although he had become assistant secretary in the party), the job of persuasion was left to his close friend and party stalwart, Clem Tavares. Again he asked for West Kingston and this time the party leadership thought he was really crazy, given the history and social disposition of the area. Some of the party hierarchy wanted him to go to West Rural St. Andrew - a nice, quiet little place in the hills which looked like a safe seat - and an area built politically for the JLP by Rose Leon, who had resigned from the party in 1960. But from the beginning he got the firm backing of Sir Alexander on his selection.
"Basically, it was my interest in the people and the area that led me to this particular constituency", he explained. "I had known the people and I had found it an area in need of special attention".
For the '62 election, the PNP had selected the indomitable barrister Dudley Thompson as their candidate, and fresh from his successful sojourn in Kenya defending Jomo Kenyatta in the famous "Mau Mau Rebellion Case", Thompson was dubbed "The Burning Spear" and considered a very formidable opponent. Most people, it seemed, had forgotten that Dudley Thompson's only previous political engagement had been a total disaster when he lost the Westmoreland seat (a total PNP parish) to the JLP's little known Winston Swaby in the Federal Elections of 1958.
LAUNCH
Eddie Seaga launched his campaign and his political career in Denham Town and set up his political office in a small 8' X 8' room at 33 Wellington Street. This would serve as his office until he moved out in 1964 to Cho-Co-Mo Lawn, more famous for sound system sessions and the new Ska beat than for politics. Seaga and his constituency workers became famous for their red "Banlon' shirts and dark glasses which triggered off new gossip and a new sensation about the Seaga mystique. The contest which was becoming competitive and fierce, had additional interest when the race was joined by the PNP's Byron Moore and Sam Brown (Ind.), a local Rastafarian leader who became the first "dread" to contest a seat in Jamaica.
On Election Day, Tuesday, April 10, 1962, the voter turnout in West Kingston certainly reflected the enthusiasm and intensity of the campaign when 81.7 per cent of the listed voters turned up at the polls -- the highest turnout islandwide! The result was close too -- a margin of just 680 -- but after polling 5,851 votes (51 per cent) to Thompson's 5,171 (45 per cent) and adding Moore's poll of 249 (2 per cent) and Brown's 78 (0.7 per cent), Seaga overwhelmed them all by an absolute majority of 353 and became one of the 26 seats won by the JLP which swept back into power for the second time.
VICTORIOUS
Only Seaga and Tavares emerged as victorious JLP candidates in the entire Corporate Area - and West Rural St. Andrew which was supposed to be that nice, quiet, safe seat in the hills, was actually snatched by the PNP's Allan Isaacs when Rose Leon entered the race as an Independent, picked up 10 per cent of the votes and soaked "Bully" Josephs. At 32, Eddie Seaga shared the spotlight with childhood buddy, Dr. Herbert Eldemire, as the two youngest winners in the election, and was sworn in as the first Minister of Development & Social Welfare of Independent Jamaica. As their new M.P., his love affair with West Kingston had only just begun.
After 1962, hardly any of Seaga's victories in West Kingston lived up to the expectations and competitiveness of the first, due largely to his incomparable achievement as an M.P. and the close bond he established with the people. Dudley Thompson, who perhaps thought that his '62 defeat was a fluke, came back for more in 1967 and was crushed by 2,772 votes when Seaga got 69 per cent of the poll and created history -- at that point -- as the first person ever to be re-elected in West Kingston! But it was a campaign marred by even more violence and tension than their first encounter, and afterwards, Dudley would wander for 11 long years in the political wilderness before showing his face in another political contest -- a by-election in 1978 which had no JLP candidates!
After Dudley Thompson, the PNP sent a different minstrel for every election to get the seasonal whopping. In fact, after the indefatigable John Maxwell in 1972, the PNP stopped sending any real serious contender. Maxwell did kick up a storm, but like his father, the Rev. John Maxwell Sr. (Ind. who was thrashed by the JLP's Clement Aitcheson in the first elections of 1944 in North Trelawny), he proved no match for JLP shower, ended up being just what Seaga symbolised on Nomination Day (when he brought with him a young sheep to the centre) -- a "lamb to the slaughter" -- and was washed away by over 4,000 votes, with Seaga getting 79 per cent of the poll.
In 1976, the PNP opted for local businessman, the late Iran Wilkins, but although he increased the PNP's poll, he still crashed by a margin of 5,757 when Seaga got 78 per cent of the ballots. In 1980, there came one known as Chadderton "Shadow" Ward who remained totally synonymous with his nickname, and after wallowing in virtual obscurity for the duration of the campaign fetched himself only 575 votes (5.6 per cent) to Seaga's 9,335 (94.1 per cent) and was beaten by 8,706. He was unopposed when the PNP chickened out of the 1983 contest, hammered Clinton "Jingles" Davy by 9,129 votes in 1989 with 80% of the poll, swamped JLP turncoat Earl Spencer by 11,295 in 1993 with an 83% share of the ballots and overwhelmed Sydney Errar by some 9,370 votes in 1997 when his poll climbed to 84 per.
Even the Municipal Elections for the KSAC which have taken place in West Kingston since Seaga's genesis in the constituency have kept pace with the mood in the area. In 1969 when those elections returned to the Corporate Area after a nine-year absence, it was Eddie Seaga who gave nurture to the early political careers of Pearnel Charles and Errol Anderson, who, along with Veronica Carter-Brown, were elected Councillors for the West Kingston divisions. Re-elected in 1974, Charles and Anderson went on to national politics in the late '70s, giving way to Samuel Dreckett and Desmond McKenzie in 1977, Dreckett and Lorna Leslie in 1981, Leslie and Lex Campbell in 1986 and Leslie and McKenzie since 1990.
Unlike so many of the other members elected since 1944, Edward Seaga has always demonstrated a propensity with being able to function as an effective M.P alongside all the various other political roles be encountered, because he is the consummate politician. As a Government Minister of the '60s, he clearly stole the show as the most visionary, the most dynamic and the most innovative, initiating and establishing a host of what have become lasting national institutions in the areas of culture, music, urban development, finance and planning. Most of them we have come to take for granted, and some, like: National Heritage Week (including the return of Garvey's body to Jamaica and the National Heroes' Award), the Festival Commission, Urban Development Corporation, Cultural Training Centre, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaica Development Bank, Students' Loan Bureau and the Jamaicanisation programme stand out like a beacon.
BRILLIANCE
As Prime Minister (and one of three to represent West Kingston), he displayed brilliance, courage and fair play as a national leader and a statesman, rescuing Jamaica's economy from the ravages of the '70s and then from the ravages of Hurricane Gilbert near the end of the '80s. Wielding considerable influence as a Caribbean leader, he was not afraid to make bold decisions - whether it was sending Jamaican troops to assist in the Grenada crisis, or opening up the Senate to independent membership (for the first time) when the PNP opposition abandoned Parliament. And while there were drawbacks such as the Spring Plain project, the positives he continued to institute far outweighed the negatives - for instance, the H.E.A.R.T. Programme, Solidarity, JAMPRO, Metropolitan Parks & Markets, Jamaica Conference Centre, the office of Contractor General, the Media Commission, the Golden Age Home, the Food Stamp Programme and the list could go on and on.
As Opposition Leader and political opponent, he is unflinching, confrontational, gives no quarter and gets even less, but he is effective and is always offering ideas and solutions for national development. Smeared continuously about his colour and place of birth - and was once even dubbed "CIAGA" - he refuses to submit to unfair political manoeuvres, so he will take his Budget speech outside of Parliament and present it to a full house at the Pegasus Hotel to make his point. He is oftentimes considered a loose cannon by many of his colleagues, associates, supporters, opponents and friends alike because of his outspoken views on most matters, but he always takes a principled stand, regards no one as a sacred cow - public servants or otherwise - and thus, almost alone, he fearlessly criticises, condemns and rejects whoever he sees as corrupt, careless, inept and inefficient - even if it means the loss of a few points in the polls.
UPS AND DOWNS
As JLP Leader for 28 years, he has had his ups and downs in the popularity ratings, as well as his share of contentions with people at the leadership and other levels who criticise his dominant leadership style. Yet, Bustamante was far more autocratic and had even more break-aways from the party during his time as leader, as also under Shearer when he was in charge. A hard task master - perhaps, but Seaga sets high standards, accepts only 100 per cent performance, tolerates no "skylarking" and expects other members, like himself to consider the party as paramount after country and family. So, he will boycott by-elections until there is electoral reform which improves the system to the benefit of all, but he will not deprive voters (across the island), from exercising their franchise in an entire general election, even when justification presents itself in the declaration of a politically-motivated State of Emergency solely for the purpose of detaining and curtailing frontline members of his party. Under his leadership the decision to divide the island into four Area Councils with each presided over by a Deputy Leader was a masterstroke; the party's image and status were greatly enhanced with a new headquarters, the upgrading of the party symbol into a new corporate logo, the adoption of a party colour and a party anthem; the establishment of most of the affiliated groups and the acquisition of far more new recruits.
As Member of Parliament and politician, he is really in a class by himself, not just by his longevity in out-serving all others, but moreso the quality of his representation, the extent of his achievements and the capacity of his personal commitment and devotion to his constituents. He built for them many monuments as a legacy, especially the creation of an entire community, Tivoli Gardens, which was transformed from the grim slums of Back-O-Wall and Dungle, replete with every educational, social and cultural service from "womb to tomb" (Maternity Centre, Basic School, Comprehensive High School, Training Centre, Golden Age Home, etc.) Today, Tivoli Gardens is the leading community in Jamaica in its achievements in sport and culture, largely funded by his own Annual Fund-Raising Dinner put on by the West Kingston Development Committee and his annual Christmas Charity Ball, both of which have become prominent fixtures on the annual social calendar.
Critics who dismiss Seaga's electoral success in West Kingston as just the result of garrison politics, need to be reminded that it was he who introduced in the '60s, the system of canvassing which identifies and determines the political preference and other data of every adult constituent and also two-way radio telecommunications to keep in contact both of which have become standard political tools in all parties. In fact, the extent of constituency organisation which Seaga considers necessary, urged him in the '70s to cell structure the JLP around polling divisions, which of course supplemented the branch structure.
But most of all, it's his relationship with the people that has endured, a romance he defends to the hilt, even if it means confronting the security forces in their defence when excessive action seems unjustifiable, as perceived in the occurrences of May 1997 and July 2001. Indeed, it is widely felt that all of this is a cue taken from that infamous utterance of John Maxwell on the night of February 29, 1972: "Tivoli, here we come!" and well, they have been literally coming ever since ... to the point where it is now a general view that the sort of political victimisation and harrassment is largely because for 40 years Seaga has stood in defiance of the PNP's complete domination of the Corporate Area. Nevertheless, his durability and resilience have made him a political survivor. Virtually written off only two years ago as unelectable and politically dead, he has bounced back from being the most villified leader in this country, to becoming not only electable again, but the only one in which the people see any hope for Jamaica's recovery again!
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
However, after Eddie Seaga, Jamaica's politics will be very dull indeed. Even the media, which have rarely ever afforded him a level playing field for all of his 40 years as M.P., would have to admit that over the years, he has certainly enriched the Jamaican political lexicon with a litany of his vintage expressions: "the haves and have nots", "blood for blood and fire for fire!", "redundant communists," "split-offs", "One Don", "light a candle and sing a sankey". Then there is the gimmickry - John as the lamb, doves released on another Nomination Day for Peace, a newspaper ad displayed during a budget speech to illustrate a sagging economy, and one sweetie placed in an empty brief-case and presented to Danny Buchanan to keep him quiet during another House debate.
And who can forget the panic he inflicted in the PNP camp in 1972 when he announced that he had found Joshua's mystical "rod of correction", allegedly lost in flight one night when Manley, Maxwell and company tried to keep a political meeting in front of Coronation Market and had to beat a hasty retreat! The respite was brief, but had a profound psychological impact while it lasted - as also related by Olive Senior in her book, 'The Message Is Change'. Then after the recovery, the glaring PNP full-page ad with the rod held aloft and the huge headline: "Seaga's Stick Is Not Joshua's Rod!"
So, while Edward Seaga remains an enigma to many and symbolises the ultimate in national and international accomplishment to many others, to the people of West Kingston, he is still their "Uncle Eddie" or "Mr. Eddie" or "King of the West" and his bond with the constituency has never faltered over these 40 years. Through his representation, influence, assistance and encouragement, there is that long list of young people who have emerged from West Kingston to express their vast potential in sports, culture, music, business and politics, as well as the many others in the wider sphere of Jamaican life who he discovered and promoted to the benefit of the nation, especially his interest in and the promotion and elevation of women which started a clear trend in Jamaica and virtually became one of his landmarks.
MOST OUTSTANDING
All of this attest to the fact that as a representative of the people and a performer who is an initiator and creator of policies and projects that have impacted most on this country, Eddie Seaga is perhaps the most outstanding individual even to grace our modern political system, and a view clearly shared by the late eminent political analyst Dr. Carl Stone who declared: "I don't think there is any other person in the post-war Caribbean who has built and left as monuments for posterity, so many institutions and so many new beginnings and so many ideas in the sphere of public management. I have a deep respect for Seaga, unlike most of my colleagues, but he is probably too far ahead of his time. I think he represents the future. I see him as a sort of Caribbean Lee Kwan Yew. I think history will record him as the most significant influence".
In his 40 years as a Member of Parliament, Eddie Seaga has not only broken records, but he has virtually become the living embodiment of what we ideally expect of our political representatives - genuine representation, devoted service, inspirational ideas, practical performance and courageous leadership with zero tolerance for corruption. A few more like him and we might have been far removed from all of this apathy towards politics and politicians that has now become so intrinsic throughout the nation.
Troy Caine is a political historian, researcher and analyst.
