Vaz sets 100-day priority list for Portland Eastern

Fresh from her victory over the People's National Party's (PNP) Bishop Purcell Jackson at the polls in the September 3 general election, Portland Eastern member of parliament-elect, Ann-Marie Vaz, says she is ready to continue what she has described as the work of the people. 

Speaking with The Gleaner on Friday, Vaz, who is also the wife of neighbouring Portland Western MP-elect, Daryl Vaz, boasted about the enumeration tactics used by her team to ensure victory at the polls, which saw her winning the Port Antonio and Prospect divisions, which were considered traditional PNP strongholds, never won by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) since the 1981 local government elections. 

Vaz swept all five parish council divisions in the constituency, polling 8,360 votes to Purcell's 6,235 votes to be elected for her first full term as an MP. She previously served a year as MP for the constituency, after defeating Damion Crawford in a heated by-election in April last year, polling 9,989 votes to Crawford's 9,670.    

“This is [arguably] the hardest and toughest election for me yet," said Vaz.

“The by-election in April 2019 was a lot easier than this one. Back then, I had the support of almost the entire JLP family. But this time around, I had to run a campaign, electronically, on my own with a very strong supporting team. We were well organised and the ‘Action Team’ is made of people ages 19 to 23 years old. Teamwork was the key, which led us to wrest those two (Prospect and Port Antonio) from the PNP," she explained. 

“What it therefore means now is that we (the JLP) are well on course to make a clean sweep of all five council divisions in the next local government elections. The fact of the matter is that my work in the Port Antonio division set the stage for this success. The Port Antonio division has always been a stronghold for the PNP, which has a sitting councillor for more than 30 years," added Vaz.

The Portland Eastern MP-elect lists among her priorities for her first 100 days: providing tablets to students to support them with online learning and providing Internet and free Wi-Fi for the parish capital, Port Antonio, and its environs. She has also placed rehabilitation of the roadway leading to Rio Grande rafting and other areas on her list, where work had already started. Providing potable water to various communities, and improving the living conditions of underprivileged women are also among her 100-day priorities.

The Port Antonio and Prospect divisions have been traditional strongholds for the PNP and have been won in every parliamentary election dating back to 1944. The sitting councillor for Port Antonio has been the PNP's Dexter Rowland, who has been representing the division since 1986. The Prospect division is represented by former mayor of Port Antonio, Wayne McKenzie of the PNP, who has won the last four elections.

In taking the Portland Eastern seat, Vaz received 22 more votes that her PNP opponent in Port Antonio; 93 more in Prospect; 905 in Fairy Hill; 745 in Manchioneal, and 289 more in Fellowship.

“My work before, during, and after the by-election of 2019 resonated well with the electorate, bearing in mind also that I went into a seat which the JLP had lost in 2016 by 2,330 votes. And even though I won by 329 votes in that by-election, it is quite different in a general election. The truth is, my hard work paid off, and I won the September 3 election by 2,125, which is a remarkable achievement, especially in a seat that was branded a safe seat for the PNP," Vaz said.

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