Grange THE HIERARCHY of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) yesterday threw its support behind Olivia "Babsy" Grange, Member of Parliament for Central St. Catherine who is facing opposition from three JLP councillors within the constituency.
Dr. Ken Baugh, general secretary of the party said the three men, Howard Charvis of the Homestead division, Knox Johnson, Hampton Green, and Aston Williams, Crescent division would be summoned to a meeting to explain their actions.
"We have procedures in place to deal with these cases," Dr. Baugh said. He also said the party was "satisfied with her (Ms Grange's) administration and performance".
The general secretary said the party was aware of a faction in the constituency that was "antagonistic" to Ms. Grange. "We have met with them in the past," he said. But, he would not be drawn on what action was likely to be taken against the men.
However, Arthur Williams, deputy general secretary in charge of administration, pointed to a "long-standing rule" within the party which bars members of the party from going public with internal matters.
The three councillors, who according to constituency secretary Theresa Turner are likely to be replaced, reportedly submitted a petition to the party yesterday. It was said to contain the signatures of 100 disgruntled members of the constituency who were dissatisfied with the performance of the Member of Parliament. Mr. Charvis is said to be the ring leader, having thrown his support behind Abe Dabdoub in a race for deputy general secretary of the party in 1999.
Having gone public with his call for Ms Grange's removal from the constituency, Mr. Charvis was reportedly asked to apologise to the MP but according to Ms. Turner refused. She was adamant Mr. Williams, who defeated the People's National Party's Eric Wright by only 33 votes in the last Local Government elections to win the Crescent division, would be replaced.
