Cedric Johnson, Gleaner WriterWESTMORELAND:
AFTER SECURING a resounding victory in last week's by-election, Danree Delancy will be sworn in as the councillor for the Bethel Town division on December 9, thus becoming the newest member of the PNP-dominated Westmoreland Parish Council.
"We are putting everything in place to facilitate his swearing-in on that day," said mayor of Savanna-la-Mar, Delford Morgan, who was overseeing the division since the death of long-standing incumbent, Cleveland 'Singer' Brown in August this year.
When counting ended at the Bethel Town All-Age School last Friday, Delancy took 1,695 votes to 671 for the JLP's Harold Francis. Twenty-one ballots were spoilt and were rejected by the returning officers. Some 48 per cent of the 4,824 eligible electors actually voted in the election.
"It is worthy of note that Delancy not only surpassed the PNP's majority win by 'Singer' Brown last year, he also secured more votes in that division than the Prime Minister did two years ago on the same electoral list," observed Mark McFarlane, a local political analyst who also pointed out that the turnout, though marginally below 50 per cent, was higher than last year's parish council elections and exceeded by-election expectations.
Pledging that he would strive to make a difference, Delancy said he will be seeking to immediately address some of the problems affecting the division, mentioning the infrastructure, unemployment, training for young people and the provision of adequate recreational facilities.
Thirty-four-year-old Delancy, an agricultural salesman and a community activist, is also a member of the executive of the Westmoreland Football Association. After the results of the preliminary count were announced last Thursday, there was a massive celebration in the Bethel Town Square. On Friday the party went through the division on what officials termed a 'thank you' motorcade.
The outcome of last Thursday's by-election did not make a difference in the composition of the Westmoreland parish council; after last year's parish council's polls the PNP took 10 of the 14 divisions, making it the only parish council in Jamaica under PNP control.
