Sangster HIS GRANDUNCLE, Sir Donald Sangster, led Jamaica as Prime Minister for three months before his death in April of 1967. His cousin, Kingsley, has sat in the country’s Parliament, but never Astil or Derrick. Peter, a branch of the Sangster tree, believes he, like Sir Donald, will make his way into Gordon House, an elected member.
Peter Sangster, who is running on a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) ticket, takes on the People’s National Party (PNP) Phillip Paulwell for the East Kingston and Port Royal seat. Even though he barely got back his deposit money when he first contested in 2002, Sangster is confident that he will factor among the winners after the August 27 general election.
“I don’t consider myself an underdog. I might have been in 2002, when I first ran, but I am going to change that this time around,” Sangster tells The Sunday Gleaner, “I don’t like the word ‘underdog’, but if you insist, I am an underdog that will bite and bite my way through to Parliament.”
Previous victories
Interestingly, however, the JLP has won East Kingston and Port Royal only once. That was in 1980 when Captain Glenmuir Webley, then husband of Joan Gordon-Webley, defeated the PNP’s Hugh Small by 486 votes.
The constituency, which Paulwell has represented since 1997, is one of the PNP Corporate Area strongholds. Former Prime Minister Michael Manley won it in 1989, and Majorie Taylor in 1993.
However, it was Sir Florizel Glasspole, a past governor-general, who reigned there longest, starting the PNP’s dynasty in 1944 before handing over the baton to William Isaacs in 1976. Isaacs did one term as MP before Captain Webley broke the dynasty.
Now, 27 years after that bruising defeat for the JLP, which saw them winning only nine of the 60 parliamentary seats, Sangster has given notice that people should not be alarmed if he pulls off the shocker.
“I have galvanised the necessary support to take this constituency for the Jamaica Labour Party ... When the votes are counted, I think I will win by a small margin,” he tells The Sunday Gleaner.
In the 2002 election, Sangster managed only 1,324 votes to Paulwell’s 7,791. He admits that the numbers are not encouraging and says that the fan base of Paulwell, who is the chairman of the PNP’s Region Three, has dwindled.
“I would not deny that the PNP has the support, but I think the support is just for Portia, not Phillip Paulwell ... I sit confidently telling you that the change is coming in East Kingston. I am going to win that constituency quietly and peacefully,” Sangster says, adding that he will get 300 more votes than Paulwell’s.
– D.L.
