Young candidate seeking to change political mindset in MoBay North Division

By: editorial@gleanerjm.com

Image caption: People’s National Party (PNP) councillor candidate Ronaldo Jackson

WESTERN BUREAU:

SHARING THAT he took a leave of absence from his studies to focus on next week’s local government election, People’s National Party (PNP) councillor candidate Ronaldo Jackson is confident that he will be the change needed in the Montego Bay North Division.

Jackson, a 26-year-old third-year marketing student at the University of the West Indies, Western Jamaica Campus in St James, will go up against the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Donyja Allen-Thompson.

The Montego Bay North division was last represented by outgoing Mayor of Montego Bay Leeroy Williams after he defeated the PNP’s George Hamilton 903-418 in the 2016 local government election.

In an interview with The Gleaner on Wednesday, Jackson said the decision to enter representational politics was influenced by his familial background and experiences growing up along Sunvalley Road in the division. Jackson explained that his father is a diehard PNP supporter who took him along to political campaigns and rallies as a youngster.
“I just really wanted to give back to my community because I was born and raised in the division. That is where I resided for half of my life, so I saw the struggles of the people every day,” Jackson said.

PIECE OF DIGNITY
At the same time, the political newcomer said interactions with older PNP members also cemented his decision to throw his hat into the race.

When questioned about his plans and aspirations for the division, Jackson told The Gleaner that he hopes to give constituents a “piece of dignity” by lobbying for running water and regularised electricity on their behalf.

“I have a lot of plans for the division, but to be short, there are a lot of communities within the division that do not have running water, and that is very shocking because the JLP been ruling that division for over 20 years. Some lanes do not have water, and I want to change that,” he stated.

“There is also a small community by the name of Montegoville that does not have electricity. They don’t have any streetlights or electricity running in the lane, so every house is on one wire,” Jackson explained.

The issue of crime and violence is also on the newcomer’s list of issues to tackle in the Montego Bay North division. The division includes Bottom Pen in Norwood, Glendevon, Sunvalley Road, and Quarry, also known as Waltham.

“We know that Glendevon is crime-riddled. I practically have the worst division in St James as it relates to crime and violence, so I want to see what can be done about that. As a 26-year-old, it’s kind of hard, but everybody else was scared to do it, so I stepped up to the plate because I grew up in the area and I am not scared of going there,” said Jackson.

In the meantime, the young politician is making the most of his campaign journey as he walks house-to-house to hear more about the needs of his constituents. He told The Gleaner that the people of Montego Bay North division have welcomed him wholeheartedly, and he is looking forward to lobbying on their behalf at the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC).

“It has been fun, and it has also been hard at times, but it has been a learning experience for me so far. It is an eye-opening change to meet new people because everybody has something to say or something to show me,” he said.

As the youngest candidate vying for the election in St James, Jackson told The Gleaner that come Monday, he would be the youngest sitting councillor at the StJMC. This, he noted, would also serve as motivation to other youngsters wanting to pursue a political career.

He pointed out, however, that it would be no easy feat as the Montego Bay North division is a JLP stronghold.

“I don’t want to be too confident, but I am very confident that I will be ‘notorious’ because I have been putting in the work, so we have to just wait until Monday, and we will see,” Jackson said.

“I hope to win so that I can go down in history and change how people view politics as not only old people or people of a certain stature and social class can do politics,” he stressed.