South West St Ann - JLP territory
Published:Thursday | December 22, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Carl Gilchrist, Gleaner Writer
The South West St Ann constituency was created in 1959 as one of 13 new seats that moved the total number of constituencies in Jamaica from 32 to 45.
Since then, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has dominated, winning the seat on every occasion except in 1997 when the People's National Party (PNP) captured the seat.
The Gallimore name dominated the landscape in the constituency for more than three decades and established the JLP's stranglehold.
The South West St Ann constituency has been boosted by the addition of the People's National Party (PNP)-dominated Calderwood division, which was shifted from South East St Ann in a realignment exercise.
This will boost the PNP's chances in the next election, but to what extent is unclear.
South West St Ann is the most rural of the four constituencies in the parish, most of it being located in the region of the Dry Harbour Mountain.
There is one major town, Alexandria, which is home to the only secondary school in the constituency - Aabuthnott Gallimore - named for the first member of parliament for the area, the JLP's Gideon Aabuthnott Gallimore.
Many districts dot the mountainside, some of the more populous ones being Aboukir, Clarksonville, Inverness, Bethany, Watt Town, and Gibraltar.
The economy of South West St Ann is split between mining and agriculture, with Noranda Jamaica Bauxite Partners having mining interests in the area, and several farmers concentrating on cultivating vegetables and cash crops.
Among the issues at the forefront of people's minds are job creation and road repairs.
For some residents, the December 29 election will be close.
"I think the people in some areas are having mixed feelings because of the condition of the roads," said Terry-Ann Campbell of Lime Tree Gardens, near Alexandria.
"So, depending on who (runs for the PNP), he will give (the JLP's Ernest) Smith a run. It's going to be tight," added Campbell.
While there are bad roads that have not been touched, there are some that have been fixed, including those in or around Culloden, Middle Street, Gibraltar, and Watt Town.
"I think the people need to see Mr Smith," said Campbell.
Another constituent, Jodiann Black of Coffee Ridge in the Cave Valley area, also sees it as a close contest.
"To tell the truth, it's kinda 50-50. The majority of people in my area haven't seen (Smith), so maybe the majority will not vote for him. I don't know if he will stand a chance," said Black.
"The problem is mostly jobs. The youths are just there hanging out. Most mornings you get up you see them on the street," added Black.
The JLP's domination of the South West St Ann seat began when Gideon Aabuthnott Gallimore won in 1959, beating A.S. Wilmot of the PNP by 600 votes.
He repeated his victory in 1962 with an increased majority, beating the PNP's C.A. Codaar.
His son, Neville Gallimore, continued the JLP stronghold with victories in 1967, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1989, and 1993.
He was elected unopposed by acclamation in 1983 after the PNP boycotted the snap election.
Comfortable victories
Gallimore enjoyed comfortable victories in all elections prior to 1993, the closest margin of victory being 1,388 in 1972 and the widest, 6,989 in the 1980 polls.
In 1993, the PNP's Glenville Shaw came extremely close to beating Gallimore, but it was 1997 before Shaw eventually broke the JLP stronghold on the seat, beating Gallimore by 614 votes.
That year, four persons contested the seat. The others were Albert Lyon (National Democratic Movement), who polled 500, and Louis Phillips (Independent), 40.
That would be the PNP's only victory in the constituency. With Gallimore retiring and Ernest Smith being the JLP candidate in 2002, Shaw tasted defeat by 1,024 votes.
Smith repeated the win over Shaw in 2007 with an increased majority.
This time around, Smith will face the PNP's Keith Walford and independent candidate Andrew Willis, who was expelled from the PNP after he was nominated to contest the election.