Senior slams Kari Douglas over reported stance in Samuda successor race
Published:Thursday | April 24, 2025 | 9:31 PM
A once-solid political alliance within the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) appears to be unravelling, as Norbrook division Councillor Susan Senior has voiced strong disappointment over fellow colleague Kari Douglas’ reported support for a rival candidate to succeed Karl Samuda.
Senior, the councillor for the Norbrook division, said she was disappointed that Douglas, a former People’s National Party (PNP) councillor who crossed the floor in 2020, was publicly supporting attorney Christian Tavares-Finson’s bid for the St Andrew North Central seat.
“I did not accept the fact that she was moving around in this space with Christian. And both of us are friends and she knows that I’m in support of Delano [Seiveright],” Senior told The Gleaner. “I would not do such, but people think differently.”
Senior said she saw that as a “big red flag”.
Attempts to get a response from Douglas were unsuccessful. She promised to return a call but had not done so up to press time.
Senior, who has endorsed Senator Delano Seiveright as the best fit to take over from the 83-year-old Samuda, argued that Douglas’ alleged actions were a betrayal of their friendship.
SUPPORT
“Both of us coming from far – from she was PNP until she crossed the floor and to the time when she went through all our struggles. I’m always here to support her ... . It’s like when yuh throw dirty water in my face,” she said. “I could not go into Trafalgar division for my friend, and I know that she’s not supporting the person that I’m moving around with. That’s not friendship.”
Douglas previously served as councillor for the Trafalgar division under the PNP before switching to the JLP. Her late father, Easton Douglas, was a cabinet minister under the P.J. Patterson administration.
She has maintained a lower public profile since losing her re-election bid as a JLP candidate in February 2024, but is now reportedly eyeing the Whitehall division, currently held by long-serving councillor Lee Clarke. It is one of two divisions in St Andrew North Central.
Senior said she does not oppose Douglas’ ambitions because she “has a lot to contribute to Jamaica”. However, the approach is problematic.
“She has a big thing under her belt ... so she shouldn’t run out with anybody. She should just calm down, watch where the waves are going, and then eventually she’ll get there,” said Senior. “It’s just her approach and the timing and how she goes after it. [And] I think, for me, that was a big red flag.”