Robertson
Barbara Ellington, Senior Gleaner Writer
CHARLENE ROBERTSON is worried that the findings of investigations into the vote-buying scandal, which first surfaced during the election of Deputy Leaders of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) last November, will neither be fair nor unbiased.
Mrs. Robertson, wife of James Robertson, a Deputy Leader in the JLP, declared that whenever anything affects her children and family she will not shut up.
"First, it was bribery, then tainted money, then back to bribery. This is unprecedented, it's the first time these allegations have been made in such a way in Jamaica. When financial support works for others, no one cries foul. I am worried that the findings of any investigations will neither be fair or unbiased. And so far, and to the best of my knowledge, no one has contacted my husband about it," she said.
VOTE-BUYING SCANDAL
The vote-buying scandal within the JLP resurfaced last week with reports that the Political Ombuds-man has been asked to investigate the allegations of bribery that were made following Mr. Robertson's defeat of Olivia 'Babsy' Grange in the elections for Deputy Leader for Area Council Four.
When the matter first surfaced, Mrs. Robertson wrote a poignant letter to Opposition Leader Edward Seaga, outlining her disbelief and disappointment in the remarks he made at the conference, accusing her husband of vote-buying.
The Sunday Gleaner spoke with Mrs. Robertson on Friday evening, about her feelings and the effect the on-going saga is having on her family. She was in an angry mood over the latest developments. Earlier that day, her six-year-old daughter had brought the newspaper headline to the attention of her grandfather and Mrs. Robertson felt enough was enough. Mrs. Robertson said her immediate reaction to the story was that her husband was being made a scapegoat.
Referring to when the allegations were first made she said, "When I heard the party leader's remarks at the arena, I was upset, my children were sitting there and they heard everything; that's what prompted my letter to Mr. Seaga. At the time, there was nothing about tainted money, those allegations came later.
My letter spoke about the irony of such remarks coming from the platform, while on the floor, T-shirts in which one-thousand dollar bills were wrapped, and which bore another candidate's picture, were being passed out."
To the question of funding for her husband's campaign, Mrs. Robertson said all of the fund-raising was handled by Daryl Vaz. A cocktail party to launch the campaign had been held and she had held fund-raisers to support Mr. Robertson's St. Thomas Education and Development Foundation as well as treats for the children of his constituency.
She said: "I have known him since I was 10, we have been in a relationship for 21 years and married for 14 years. The person I know would not resort to that. He was up against a lot of money that had been pumped into St. Thomas. He couldn't match it, so from early on, he decided that he wouldn't give hand-outs. His style is to meet with groups such as schools and find out their needs then beg or find ways to get books or other useful materials to help the communities develop. He was never in charge of fund-raising. He subscribes to the 'teaching a man to fish' philosophy."
BE: What would you say if you heard that Vaz had paid people to vote on James' behalf?
CR: That would surprise me too because I have known him for a long time. You see, a lot of consideration went into James' decision; the party didn't want him to do it, there were polls, meetings, canvassing and lots of soul searching to see if it were a viable option. We knew it was a lot of work. But on the day of the election, what I saw on the floor was eye-opening. Even some of those who were planning to vote for Babsy, changed their minds after Mr. Seaga's speech.
BE: What has been the cost to your family coming out of this entire affair?
CR: One of the persons who this has also affected, is James' father who has been one of his strongest supporters; he is hurt. His mother is hurt but she has a quiet strength and faith, and the ability to leave everything in the hands of God. Our children are aware of it but they are very young now. However, later as they grow up, it will impact on them. Whenever this surfaces, people will remember and make links. I am one of the women who can say my children were born here and we do not have papers to live anywhere else. They are being educated here and if they choose to go to university abroad later, I will encourage them to come home and work because this is our country.
Allegations like these don't go away, the drug problem is a major one here and if this crops up in the future, the slur will be a major factor.
I will be fighting to find out what the real deal is, I hear terms like "charges dropped" and "cleared up" but I can see it anything to do with drugs in the future, James' name will always be in question. Our business is on the wharf. If a container should be found with contraband, who knows what will be alleged? These days you don't know who your neighbours are and if you live next-door to a criminal and unknowingly interact with him, when allegations are made you will have to defend it, so I will have to fight to get this slur off our name.
BE: What would you like the JLP to do?
CR: I cannot say I am convinced by their actions. Who can be sure that arbitration will give a true reflection of the situation? Who is to say there won't be vindictive people turning up to say James bribed them. It seems to me that there is a definite effort to destroy his character.
BE: What was the nature of the relationship between your husband and the party hierarchy prior to and since these allegations?
CR: He has always been close to Mr. Seaga, there were disagreements but you could have knocked me over with a feather when the Leader made those remarks. Especially since over the years, he (Mr. Seaga), has also faced several accusations and slurs on his character. So I wrote the letter to caution him about hurting others with allegations.
BE: What do you tell the children?
CR: I tell them everything; they know what their father does, they might not absorb it all but they understand what has been done to their dad. We talk about wanting young blood in the political system but if we continue to do things like this to them, how do we expect young people to step up?
BE: In your quieter mo-ments, do you advise James to leave politics?
CR: When I married him 14 years ago, I did not know he planned to offer himself for representational politics. With his level of commitment, I couldn't ask him to give it up. Regardless of what people say, he has the drive; he has been fought every step of the way but I couldn't ask him to stop.
I couldn't survive with him if I didn't have a commitment too. He needs to keep going so he can be proud to say he was part of the change, the party does not belong to one person or to a few people, it's for Jamaica and I want what is best for Jamaica. I would like to fade into the woodwork but when my children grow up I want them to be proud that their parents made a contribution to securing a better future for the country. I feel that he was chosen for the role he is playing and he has worked hard at every challenge and with very little sleep.
BE: You wrote the letter to Mr. Seaga and you are now speaking out about the latest report, what would you say to those who might say James is hiding behind you and relying on you to speak out for him?
CR: We are two independent people, he never tries to smother me in any way. He did not know about the letter until after I'd written it. Family loyalty is what is important to me and lots of things happen to James but when it touches my family, I will speak out. He is capable of fighting his battles. He feels guilty that we have to go through this and if I have to vent, he wouldn't stop me. I have never had to speak for James."
