Omar Anderson, Gleaner WriterTHE PEOPLE'S National Party (PNP) is eyeing control of the St. Catherine Parish Council, following last Thursday's resignation of Dr. Raymoth Notice as Mayor of Spanish Town.
The PNP is pressing for
Dr. Notice to also resign as councillor for the the Bog Walk
division, insisting that although he was spared the assault charges his wife, Verna, brought against him, he has compromised his ability to serve politically.
Sensing a possible control of the council, the PNP councillors held an urgent meeting Thursday night, the same day Dr. Notice resigned as mayor. The group discussed the former mayor's dilemma, and the party's move to control the parish council.
PNP Chairman Robert Pickersgill yesterday told The Sunday Gleaner that the JLP's parish council victory two years ago did not 'overwhelm' the party (PNP) because the margin of victory in some councils was very narrow.
"We are mindful of that, and we have every intention of reversing the situation," he said. "We (the PNP) knew before that Dr. Notice was standing on shaky ground politically." The current configuration of the St. Catherine Parish Council is 21 JLP councillors to the PNP's 18.
JLP insiders say that Councillor Norris Grant of the Guys Hill division has not been attending meetings because of illness. That brings the tally to 20-18
According to JLP sources, an audit of constituencies and parish council divisions, which Party Leader Bruce Golding commissioned earlier this year, showed that the PNP was gaining ground in the Bog Walk division.
As the race to replace Mayor Notice intensifies, The Sunday Gleaner understands that the front-runners include president of Young Jamaica, Devon Wint, councillor for the Point Hill division, Owen Palmer, councillor for the Home-stead division, Iman Smith, councillor for the Ginger Ridge division, and Deputy Mayor Dr. Dennis Wheatley of the Naggo Head division in Portmore.
It is understood that some JLP members have expressed concern about the deputy mayor being given the top job because he is from the Portmore municipality.
They also pointed to a memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed between the Portmore municipality and the St. Catherine Parish Council, outlining 'boundaries and jurisdictions' that prohibit councillors from either Spanish Town or Portmore holding certain offices in the opposite council.
Meanwhile, the JLP Area Council Two is to meet this morning at the party's Belmont Road headquarters, where the selection of a new Spanish Town Mayor is among the items to be discussed.
Mr. Golding is to also meet with JLP councillors of the St. Catherine Parish Council at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow at Belmont Road, to select a suitable candidate.
