Warren Newby presents new approach to leadership
Published:Sunday | August 3, 2025 | 12:14 AM
Former senator Warren Newby, the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) standard-bearer in Clarendon North Western, says he has unified the party following the tenure of Phillip Henriques and is now focused on proving he’s the right choice for the upcoming general election.
“People have come back onboard in large part,” he told The Sunday Gleaner. “I want to believe that we are now at 100 per cent. It has been a very long process.”
Newby replaced Henriques in an internal March election, winning all four divisions against attorney-at-law Corey Dunkley. Henriques, who won the seat in 2020, opted not to seek re-election, amid criticism from local JLP councillors over neglect of rural needs. He has denied those claims.
Newby said momentum from his internal victory was used to organise campaign workers and reconcile party members. His focus now is defeating the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Richard Azan, a seasoned Clarendon native.
With only months to mount his campaign, Newby has been tackling local issues “to generate some good will that people will understand that I am a worker and that my word is dependable”.
He highlighted repairs done using cement on roads in Dyke Hill, Moravia, and Walder-Run, and plans to address roads in Ritchies and Coffee Piece.
He said he also repaired the Lodgie Green Community Centre and is constructing a house for a fire victim in Trout Hall, Long Pond. So far, he said he has covered more than 80 per cent of the constituency and is maintaining communication through town halls and various media.
Key resident concerns include poor roads and unreliable water supply. Newby’s road plan prioritises main corridors, followed by community and subdivision roads. For water, he aims to deliver reliable supply to at least 95 per cent of the constituency within seven years.
“What is happening is that they have not harvested the water, treated it and distributed it in a sufficient way. We need to look at the gap, work out a mapping of the constituency and then budgeting and delivering to the people in an orderly way over a period of time,” Newby told The Sunday Gleaner.
Newby outlined his plans to increase early childhood institutions in the constituency and improve resources in other schools.
“I know there are some gaps, several of the children have to be walking too far in my estimation for them to get to school, and we have to do an audit – a census maybe – to find where the gaps are and then to lobby CHASE (Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education) Fund to build some additional [schools] close to where the children are living to reduce commute time and the stress associated with it,” he said.
Strategically, his campaign will focus on maximising support in Frankfield and Thompson Town, while building on gains in Ritchies.
“We’re blessed with having two sitting councillors in those divisions and they have worked hard in their respective places. There are activities that are taking place in both, and we have a very active campaign to make sure that we can maximise in those areas. I also have very strong representation in the Ritchies area and … we’ll be able to prevail in those three divisions,” he asserted.
FINDING BALANCE
A former campaign manager and junior minister, this is Newby’s first run for elected office. The 47-year-old told The Sunday Gleaner that he had to find the balance between his political ambitions and his goals as a businessman.
“I’d recommend that young people be focused on building careers before they enter politics because it’s ravaging, it takes your time, it takes your money, it takes your attention; to have the sort of structures and support systems built up, it will cannibalise you, it will eat you,” Newby stated.
Confident of victory over Azan, Newby added: “Are you going to go back for somebody who you have had for three terms who has not being able to solve the issues or are you going to give a young fresh mind the opportunity to take on the issues?”