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Garwin Davis, Sunday Gleaner Writer
North East St. Ann, prior to the 1980 general election, was considered a People's National Party (PNP) stronghold.
Then came the by-election in 2001 where a woman named Shaine Robinson turned the form book around and won the seat for the <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Jamaica</SPAN> Labour Party (JLP).
Pundits were stunned. What made the victory even more remarkable was the fact that Ms. Robinson, a political novice at best, was an eleventh-hour replacement for businessman Michael Belnavis, who had suddenly resigned.
Badly beaten
Many though, remained unconvinced. The PNP, they claimed, had it coming the moment the party opted for Carol Jackson over then St. Ann's Bay Councillor, Eva Murdock, as its candidate.
"Wait until the general election next year," was the rallying cry. "The labourites won because many of Eva's supporters stayed home in protest - don't count on that happening again."
Even the then prime minister weighed in.
"We are going to reclaim what is rightfully ours," Prime Minister P.J. Patterson said. "Lightening won't strike in the same place twice - this is PNP country."
Patterson demitted office earlier this year after winning a record three consecutive general elections for the PNP. A by-election was called following the surprise resignation of the then MP, Danny <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Melville</SPAN>.
Ms. Robinson would again defy the odds in 2002 by beating Ms. Jackson in what was a record voter turnout.
In fact, so high was the turnout that Ms. Jackson, in polling over 10,000 votes, received the highest number of votes for a losing candidate for either party. Even today, she remains convinced that foul play, involving the padding of the voters' list by her opponent was the reason for her defeat.
"We all knew what happened, but such is life," Ms. Jackson said.
Ms. Robinson, who can now be considered a formidable political force, dismissed Ms. Jackson's charges as ludicrous, calling her rival "a sore loser who can't come to grip with reality".
Tan Young, president of the James Avenue <A class=kLink oncontextmenu="return false;" id=KonaLink2 onmouseover=adlinkMouseOver(event,this,2); style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline! important" onclick=adlinkMouseClick(event,this,2); onmouseout=adlinkMouseOut(event,this,2); href="http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20061217/lead/lead3.html#" target=_new><SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Small </SPAN><SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Business
North East St. Ann, prior to the 1980 general election, was considered a People's National Party (PNP) stronghold.
Then came the by-election in 2001 where a woman named Shaine Robinson turned the form book around and won the seat for the <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Jamaica</SPAN> Labour Party (JLP).
Pundits were stunned. What made the victory even more remarkable was the fact that Ms. Robinson, a political novice at best, was an eleventh-hour replacement for businessman Michael Belnavis, who had suddenly resigned.
Badly beaten
Many though, remained unconvinced. The PNP, they claimed, had it coming the moment the party opted for Carol Jackson over then St. Ann's Bay Councillor, Eva Murdock, as its candidate.
"Wait until the general election next year," was the rallying cry. "The labourites won because many of Eva's supporters stayed home in protest - don't count on that happening again."
Even the then prime minister weighed in.
"We are going to reclaim what is rightfully ours," Prime Minister P.J. Patterson said. "Lightening won't strike in the same place twice - this is PNP country."
Patterson demitted office earlier this year after winning a record three consecutive general elections for the PNP. A by-election was called following the surprise resignation of the then MP, Danny <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Melville</SPAN>.
Ms. Robinson would again defy the odds in 2002 by beating Ms. Jackson in what was a record voter turnout.
In fact, so high was the turnout that Ms. Jackson, in polling over 10,000 votes, received the highest number of votes for a losing candidate for either party. Even today, she remains convinced that foul play, involving the padding of the voters' list by her opponent was the reason for her defeat.
"We all knew what happened, but such is life," Ms. Jackson said.
Ms. Robinson, who can now be considered a formidable political force, dismissed Ms. Jackson's charges as ludicrous, calling her rival "a sore loser who can't come to grip with reality".
Tan Young, president of the James Avenue <A class=kLink oncontextmenu="return false;" id=KonaLink2 onmouseover=adlinkMouseOver(event,this,2); style="POSITION: static; TEXT-DECORATION: underline! important" onclick=adlinkMouseClick(event,this,2); onmouseout=adlinkMouseOut(event,this,2); href="http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20061217/lead/lead3.html#" target=_new><SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Small </SPAN><SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Business
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