Stories by Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer 
GOLDING
Bruce Golding became a member of the Central Executive of the Jamaica Labour Party for the first time in 1969; he won a seat in the 1972 election to become Member of Parliament for West St. Catherine. Golding remembers: "Seaga has said to me: 'As soon as you finish your exams let me know 'cause you're going to have to facd an early selection; 'Golding finished his university exams in June 1969 and had three weeks to campaign against seven other contenders for the plarty selection, including Hector Wynter and the then mayor of Spanish Town. 'I spent two weeks just going right through the constituency, hitting every district, talking to all the workers, everyone. The selection was held and I was the only nominee. Then I started virtully full-time work. Seven days a week I'd get up every morning, have breakfast, head out, come back eleven, twelve o'clock at night. I just took the whole constituency. I worked out a schedule and determined that there was no district that must not see me at least once every two weeks. We did that every day - every day for two and a half years. Laura Tanna continues her one-on one interview with the man set to become leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, member of parliament for West Kingston and Opposition Leader in the Gleaner tomorrow.
SMALL STORES line both sides of Matthews Lane, one of few areas that support the People's National Party (PNP) in West Kingston, a domain of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
Residents here proudly tell visitors that no matter what party is in power, they do not look for handouts from politicians.
Matthews Lane is, arguably, the smallest but toughest enclave in West Kingston. Located in the heart of downtown Kingston's market district, it has a reputation for producing area dons like the Phipps brothers, Glen (Early Bird) and Donald (Zekes), but also typifies the constituency's entrepreneurial spirit.
MAN IN CHARGE
'Father Zekes' is the man in charge and according to people in the know, neither robberies nor any other criminal activity are allowed on his turf. Despite some brushes with the law, Zekes is rated as a street-smart businessman and he encourages his followers to be independent. The biggest problem for Matthews Lane last year were periods of violent interaction with men from Tivoli Gardens, the JLP stronghold with which it has a long history of fighting.
One man, who did not give his name, told The Sunday Gleaner that he was glad to see Edward Seaga go after over 40 years as member of Parliament for West Kinston.
"A pare gunshot (men from Tivoli Gardens) bus' over da side yah an' wi neva oppress dem yet. So, through dat, mi not even too deal wid the politician dem," he said.
Some local historians say political violence in Jamaica had its genesis in Matthews Lane during the 1940s. For most of the 1970s, the area was led by Aston 'Bucky' Marshall and figured prominently in the war with JLP-aligned communities. Marshall and Claudius 'Jack' Massop, his JLP counterpart from Tivoli Gardens, 'signed' the first of several peace treaties to end hostilities in January 1978. Marshall was killed at a nightclub in New York City in 1980.
As long as the peace holds, the people of Matthews Lane say it matters little to them who succeeds Mr. Seaga as West Kingston's man in Parliament.
"Wi nuh depen' pon the politician dem fi nuthin. A we haffi get outa life wha' wi put in," said another man who also declined to give his name. "If people look pon life how we look at it, you'd a have a better Jamaica."
No cold shoulder
treatment for Hannah Town
DURING A press conference at the Knutsford Court Hotel last Wednesday, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) chairman Bruce Golding vowed that he would practise the non-partisan politics he has preached throughout the past 10 years, should he be elected the new member of Parliament for West Kingston.
If the by-election polls run true to form and the JLP retains the seat, residents of Hannah Town hope Mr. Golding will live up to his word and not give them the cold shoulder treatment they say they have got for almost 20 years.
Traditionally, people in this small community support the governing People's National Party (PNP) whose candidates have been fodder at election time for the former MP, Edward Seaga, who stepped down from the seat last week after 43 years.
Mr. Seaga became MP for both areas after parliamentary boundary changes in 1986 added what was formerly West Central Kingston to West Kingston. Most residents say since then, they have been given the poor cousin's treatment.
CHANGES
"From the boundaries change, wi get very much neglect. If dem even get a money fi run the area (West Kingston) dem nuh sen' none roun' here," said one man who identified himself as Junior.
Junior, a burly Rastafarian, has lived all his life in Hannah Town which resembles most inner-
city areas in Kingston: lined with dilapidated buildings, vacant lots strewn with garbage and youth hanging out on sidewalks. He says
the community's physical appearance, unemployment and lack of skills training are the biggest obstacles to progress in Hannah Town.
Last year, the National Housing Trust's (NHT) $5 billion Inner-City Housing Project cited Hannah Town as one of the communities in West Kingston where it plans to build low-income houses. Cur-rently, schemes are being constructed in nearby Denham Town and along Spanish Town Road. Through its Social Development Unit, the NHT also reached out to some of Hannah Town's youth last summer, including them among 50 inner-city hopefuls for a training programme co-sponsored by the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce.
FRUSTRATED
Despite the usefulness of that programme, Stacy-Ann, 25, remains frustrated with the lack of scope for young persons in Hannah Town. She says she looks forward to the day when her hometown is comparable to Tivoli Gardens, considered by many to be the jewel of the West Kingston crown.
"Me go a Tivoli 'cause mi have family there an' dem have whole heap a things," she said. "Dem have netball programmes, community centres and meetings... None a dat nuh gwaan ya so." Her friend, Stephanie, blurted, "We are underdogs." Things were not always depressing in Hannah Town.
For over a decade, it was home to the thriving Hannah Town Bakery where several residents were employed. The bakery was opened there by Francis Chan, a Hong Kong-born businessman who came to Jamaica when he was 16. Now 63, Mr. Chan told The Sunday Gleaner that the bakery's most prosperous period was the 1960s but the dawn of the 1970s saw an upsurge in violence. Fearing harm from thugs in the area, Mr. Chan sold the bakery to National Baking Company Limited and immigrated to Canada.
SKILLS PROGRAMMES
There was some improvement when Ralph Brown, a former mayor of Kingston and minister of local government, became MP for West Central Kingston in the 1976 General Elections. From most reports, he initiated a number of successful skills programmes for youth. The jocular Brown, who died in 1999, was once described by former Prime Minister Michael Manley as the "greatest ordinary Jamaican." An imposing figure in West Central Kingston and later East Kingston he was familiar with the area before becoming MP, as he was elected councillor for the division in 1956. Brown ran as M.P. three times and won on each occasion.
Unless the new West Kingston M.P. is prepared to show the type of interest Ralph Brown did, longtime Hannah Town residents like Junior say their community will quickly slip into oblivion.
FILE
