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AMONG Damion Crawford's main challenges as he sets out on a journey which he hopes will allow him to sit in Gordon House are spending huge amounts of money buying out bars, and paying cash directly for votes.
Crawford, who will represent the People's National Party (PNP) in the next general election, is insisting that he will stick to his core values and run a campaign along those lines as he battles former head of the National Solid Waste Management Authority, Joan Gordon Webley, in East Rural St Andrew.
Damion Crawford, the People’s National Party (PNP) candidate in East Rural St Andrew, and PNP president Portia Simpson Miller greet supporters at a recent election campaign rally in the constituency.
As such, the accepted practice by aspiring and established politicians of satisfying the thirst for alcohol of those in bars, and also stuffing people's pockets with money in return for a vote, is not on for the University of the West Indies lecturer.
"The culture in the current situation is that money should be a part of the campaign, and so therefore, financial constraints remain a challenge. Also, it is against my own personal decision against the concept of issuing a $5,000 or buying votes or buying out bars; it's just not something that I am prepared to do," Crawford told the Sunday Observer in an interview.
Describing his experience campaigning for a seat in the Jamaican Parliament for the first time as excellent, Crawford remains adamant that votes must be earned and not bought.
"So far it has been excellent. I have been walking, meeting with and talking to the people, trying to understand their issues and trying to find solutions to their problems that we can solve immediately," he said. "The reception has been great. The number one sentiment is that they had seen me on TV and seemed to have liked what I stand for and how I represent myself.
"I represent all kinds of persons who have been marginalised in various ways. Those persons whose names were not sent down from HEART because companies suggested that they wanted brown people, or those people who believe that they have to bleach to reach, or those people who have to change their address to find a job, I think that they all see me as a representation of them," Crawford said.
A Rastafarian by faith, Crawford stated in an earlier interview that he had encountered people who had openly wanted to victimise him because of what he stood for, but said that those were in the minority.
"Prejudice is not something that sits with the majority of the people of East Rural St Andrew," he said. "Right now, I don't focus on my religion, I focus on all the people who need quality representation."
So far, Crawford has seen most support in the Harbour View division, traditionally a PNP stronghold. However, he continues to do preparatory work in other areas as he tries to get his message across.
East Rural St Andrew includes other areas such as Mavis Bank, Newcastle, Gordon Town, Irish Town, Dallas, Kintyre, and sections of Bull Bay.
"The most supportive division is automatically Harbour View. The most challenging so far have been some of the areas around Gordon Town, like Red Light, Irish Town, going up into some of those other areas. The political culture is so tribal that sometimes persons don't even consider the candidate, they only consider which party they support," he said.
"We continue to offer the people a sample of what we can do for them. We are having, for example, our health fair in Taylor Land (Bull Bay) on Sunday (today) to actually give people something permanent. They can come and get their tests for diabetes, HIV, they can come and get depression screening, they can come and get counselling, that remains with them after the campaign. A drink of rum is not that permanent or continuous," Crawford said.
The former PNP Youth Organisation president has equipped himself with some powerful members of the Jamaican society as part of his campaign team. Among them are Valerie Neita Robertson as campaign manager and her cousin, K Churchill Neita as treasurer.
Tomorrow, the team will launch an education-based project that Crawford said will lead to good things for the nation's young. Details of the programme will be outlined then, he said.
"People know that I have always acted and fought for them. They know that I am always into finding solutions. There are some things that may not be able to be implemented until I have governmental support and there are some solutions that I will be able to implement just upon seeing the problem and seeing what can be done about it," he said.
"For example, a woman's house just burnt down and we are offering her some manpower support. That is a solution that I can find immediately. So it's just to act as I have always acted. I have seen some initiatives that I can do and my team and I are going around to make those happen, but I am staying far from buying out the bars and buying the people," he stressed.
Crawford is also hoping that the relative peace that has so far marked the campaign in the constituency will continue.
"My opponent and I, and her supporters and mine, actually crossed paths in Harbour View last week Saturday. Her people were very cordial. They were very friendly and so were ours. I was very happy that that interaction started and ended as it did," Crawford said.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1evBJAdp9
Crawford, who will represent the People's National Party (PNP) in the next general election, is insisting that he will stick to his core values and run a campaign along those lines as he battles former head of the National Solid Waste Management Authority, Joan Gordon Webley, in East Rural St Andrew.
Damion Crawford, the People’s National Party (PNP) candidate in East Rural St Andrew, and PNP president Portia Simpson Miller greet supporters at a recent election campaign rally in the constituency.
As such, the accepted practice by aspiring and established politicians of satisfying the thirst for alcohol of those in bars, and also stuffing people's pockets with money in return for a vote, is not on for the University of the West Indies lecturer.
"The culture in the current situation is that money should be a part of the campaign, and so therefore, financial constraints remain a challenge. Also, it is against my own personal decision against the concept of issuing a $5,000 or buying votes or buying out bars; it's just not something that I am prepared to do," Crawford told the Sunday Observer in an interview.
Describing his experience campaigning for a seat in the Jamaican Parliament for the first time as excellent, Crawford remains adamant that votes must be earned and not bought.
"So far it has been excellent. I have been walking, meeting with and talking to the people, trying to understand their issues and trying to find solutions to their problems that we can solve immediately," he said. "The reception has been great. The number one sentiment is that they had seen me on TV and seemed to have liked what I stand for and how I represent myself.
"I represent all kinds of persons who have been marginalised in various ways. Those persons whose names were not sent down from HEART because companies suggested that they wanted brown people, or those people who believe that they have to bleach to reach, or those people who have to change their address to find a job, I think that they all see me as a representation of them," Crawford said.
A Rastafarian by faith, Crawford stated in an earlier interview that he had encountered people who had openly wanted to victimise him because of what he stood for, but said that those were in the minority.
"Prejudice is not something that sits with the majority of the people of East Rural St Andrew," he said. "Right now, I don't focus on my religion, I focus on all the people who need quality representation."
So far, Crawford has seen most support in the Harbour View division, traditionally a PNP stronghold. However, he continues to do preparatory work in other areas as he tries to get his message across.
East Rural St Andrew includes other areas such as Mavis Bank, Newcastle, Gordon Town, Irish Town, Dallas, Kintyre, and sections of Bull Bay.
"The most supportive division is automatically Harbour View. The most challenging so far have been some of the areas around Gordon Town, like Red Light, Irish Town, going up into some of those other areas. The political culture is so tribal that sometimes persons don't even consider the candidate, they only consider which party they support," he said.
"We continue to offer the people a sample of what we can do for them. We are having, for example, our health fair in Taylor Land (Bull Bay) on Sunday (today) to actually give people something permanent. They can come and get their tests for diabetes, HIV, they can come and get depression screening, they can come and get counselling, that remains with them after the campaign. A drink of rum is not that permanent or continuous," Crawford said.
The former PNP Youth Organisation president has equipped himself with some powerful members of the Jamaican society as part of his campaign team. Among them are Valerie Neita Robertson as campaign manager and her cousin, K Churchill Neita as treasurer.
Tomorrow, the team will launch an education-based project that Crawford said will lead to good things for the nation's young. Details of the programme will be outlined then, he said.
"People know that I have always acted and fought for them. They know that I am always into finding solutions. There are some things that may not be able to be implemented until I have governmental support and there are some solutions that I will be able to implement just upon seeing the problem and seeing what can be done about it," he said.
"For example, a woman's house just burnt down and we are offering her some manpower support. That is a solution that I can find immediately. So it's just to act as I have always acted. I have seen some initiatives that I can do and my team and I are going around to make those happen, but I am staying far from buying out the bars and buying the people," he stressed.
Crawford is also hoping that the relative peace that has so far marked the campaign in the constituency will continue.
"My opponent and I, and her supporters and mine, actually crossed paths in Harbour View last week Saturday. Her people were very cordial. They were very friendly and so were ours. I was very happy that that interaction started and ended as it did," Crawford said.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1evBJAdp9
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