GOVERNOR-GENERAL Sir Howard Cooke has officially been advised of Dr. David Panton's decision to leave the Senate to take up a job offer in the United States.
"He (the Governor-General) has advised me that he has received it (letter of resignation)," Opposition leader Edward Seaga told The Gleaner yesterday.
NO RUSH FOR REPLACEMENT
Mr. Seaga, however, remained unwilling to give any a time for the announcement of a replacement for Dr. Panton in the Upper Chamber, noting there was no required rush. Nor would he reveal the names of those candidates shortlisted for the vacant Opposition seat.
"The problem is there are so many possibilities," Mr. Seaga said.
However, it has been suggested that four members of Generation 2000 (G2K), the group of young professionals aligned to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), are among those favoured to join the Senate. They are G2K president Christopher Tufton; former president Dr. Ronald Robinson and vice-presidents Ian Hayles and Kenneth Rowe.
A BRIGHT MIND
Only recently the Opposition leader publicly lauded Mr. Tufton, in effect describing him as one of the brighter minds for Jamaica's political future, while criticising the young members of the governing People's National Party (PNP).
Reports of Dr. Panton's intention to migrate surfaced last Tuesday, revealing that he had been offered a job at a financial firm in Atlanta, Georgia. However, the Opposition Leader had indicated that, though he was aware of Mr. Panton's position, he would not act until he was advised that the Governor-General had received the resignation.
Dr. Panton, an Oxford graduate, former Rhodes scholar and founding member of G2K, was appointed to the Senate shortly after the October 2002 general election and was expected to be a powerful force for the Opposition. He had previously been pegged to run for a central Manchester seat in the House of Representatives but withdrew from a campaign to oust Government MP John Junor the Minister of Health due to what he said were business-related pressures.
Another G2K member, Norman Horne, was sworn into the Senate last September to replace former Senator Desmond McKenzie, who relinquished his seat to take office as Mayor of Kingston.
Senator Horne had replaced Dr. Panton in the central Manchester race and lost a close battle to Mr. Junor.
