By Garwin Davis, Assistant News Editor
Robertson
DISMISSING AS baseless, charges that he had bribed his way to the position of deputy leader for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Area Council Two, Member of Parliament for Western St. Thomas, James Robertson, said attempts at maligning his character would in no way deter him from trying to bring meaningful changes "to the party I have pledged to serve".
Addressing questions from The Gleaner yesterday, the 37-year-old Mr. Robertson, the youngest deputy leader or vice president of a major political party in the post independence
era said his victory over Seaga loyalist and Member of Parliament for Central St. Catherine Olivia 'Babsy' Grange was a testament to the hard work that was done on the ground by his campaign team. "We had no reason to bribe anybody... we were always winning this race," he declared.
Mr. Robertson on Saturday at the JLP's 60th annual two-day conference at the National Arena defeated Ms. Grange in the race for deputy leader. However, prior to the vote, and in what some saw as a last ditch effort to rescue the candidacy of Ms. Grange, Opposition Leader Edward Seaga took to the podium to declare what he said were reports of clandestine vote-buying of delegates. He mentioned $5 million of questionable money being spent to buy votes, warning that the party was not for sale. The intervention of the Opposition Leader was seen as a direct swipe at the Robertson camp and a bat for his protegy, Ms. Grange.
Asked about this Mr. Robertson said: "It was an unfortunate statement for Mr. Seaga to have made but clearly he was acting on information he had received from people he considered reliable. It was simply a case of bad advice being received. I have no problem with Mr. Seaga... he has been good to me and I have been good to him. I did not take the comments personally because I knew my campaign team was guilty of no such thing. As I have stated before and I am going to say it again I make no apologies for the way we conducted our campaign. I was fortunate to be surrounded by a dream team... people who trust each other and people who were not afraid to go out and do door to door campaigning. Do you think people like Mike Henry or a Shahine Robinson would be a party to the bribing of delegates? They were a part of my team and it was simply a case of good old fashion hard work."
ONLY HUMAN
Asked whether he was surprised at the reaction of Ms. Grange following his victory and her declaration that she would not be working with someone who had basically corrupted the system, the Western St. Thomas MP added: "I could understand Ms. Grange being hurt... she's only human. After all she has given most of her adult life to the JLP... she has worked really hard for the party. Again I did not take her comments personally."
But as coy and as politically correct as Mr. Robertson is now coming across as, there are many who see his victory over Ms. Grange as a telling blow to one of the leaders of the pro Seaga factions within the party - a victory which could conceivably send the Central St. Catherine MP into political oblivion, at least where her leadership ambitions are concerned. The victory by Mr. Robertson, along with that of Dr. Horace Chang over another Seaga loyalist, Edmund Bartlett, in Area Council Four comprising the western parishes, some say, have quickened the pace for "the new thrust" which has been emerging within the JLP in recent times.
CHANGES
Asked about this, Mr. Robertson said: "It's all about renewal... it's all about change... there's nothing wrong with that. I didn't just wake up one morning and decide that I was going to challenge Ms. Grange. I have worked with her and yes I do have a lot of respect for her. I felt, however, that for us to successfully defeat the People's National Party (PNP) in the next general election, there had to be some changes within Area Council Two - the largest region and probably where we lost the election in 2002."
And Bruce Golding... should his victory over Ms. Grange be tied to the political ambitions of Mr. Golding -considered by many as the likely successor to Mr. Seaga? "I would have challenged Ms. Grange whether Mr. Golding was in the party or not," Mr. Robertson retorted. "My challenge was not tied to anyone else's agenda but simply out of wanting to see the best for the JLP."
Pressed on whether he felt intimidated at first knowing that he would be launching his campaign against one of Mr. Seaga's staunchest loyalists and supporters, Mr. Robertson gave an unequivocal no. "I have been campaigning with Senator Anthony Johnson in North East St. Catherine since 1988... I have paid my dues in this party. If anything I have been in St. Catherine longer than Ms. Grange... she came over in 1997. No it wasn't an easy decision to make but I don't make decisions based on personalities. James Robertson has never been a divider and it's not my intention to start being one now."
