'My time now' says JLP's Duane Smith following nomination in St Andrew North Western

Declaring that it is his time now, Duane Smith was on Wednesday afternoon nominated as the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) candidate to contest the St Andrew North Western by-election on November 22.

Smith, the councillor for the Chancery Hall division, was nominated at the Pembroke Hall Restorative Justice Centre in the constituency just after 1 p.m.

He was accompanied to the centre by his wife Kimika Peterkin Smith, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, and scores of party supporters and senior members of the JLP.

“Labourites, this has been a long time in coming in North West St Andrew. Labourites, as you said, it's my time now and I'm very prepared for the job. I thank you for your unwavering support over all these many years.

“A lot of work has been done in north west over the last couple of decades and I am here to add onto the work that has already been done,” he said, adding that the constituency he is seeking to represent in Parliament has a road problem.

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He said he will be advocating “assiduously to get North West St Andrew's fair share of the $45-billion SPARK Programme”.

A third term councillor, Smith's nomination follows the departure of former Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, who took up a deputy managing director job at the International Monetary Fund last week.

Clarke became member of parliament for St Andrew North Western in 2018, dispatching the opposition People's National Party's (PNP) Keshia Hayle in a by-election.

His entrance into the constituency then cut short Smith's expectation to succeed his father Derrick Smith in the constituency. The elder Smith served as the parliamentary representative for 29 unbroken years from 1989 to 2018.

Meanwhile, two independent candidates — Rohan Banks and Carl Marshall — were earlier nominated to contest the by-election.

The two are former representatives of the PNP.

Banks contested the seat for the opposition People's National Party (PNP) in the September 2020 general election, while Marshall served as speaker of the House of Representatives.

Holness said the nomination of the two candidates means that the by-election is a contested one.

“My message to our supporters, to concerned residents, to electors in this constituency is to take the election serious and come out and cast your ballots in favour of Duane Smith,” said Holness.

- Kimone Francis