CONSTITUENCY PROFILE: ST.JAMES NORTH-WESTERN

Slim victory for PNP
Anthony Myers
Contributor

THE SWING of the pendulum points to a PNP victory in St. James North-Western in the upcoming general election ­ but only just.

When Jamaica had its first general election on December 14, 1944, the parish of St. James had two constituencies ­ St. James North-Western and South-Eastern.

The constituency of St. James North Western is bounded by the following:

From a point on the seacoast at Running Gut opposite to the junction of parochial road No. 9 Rose Hall, and the main road, then southerly along parochial road No. 34 Rose Hall, to the northern boundary of Flower Hill. It then goes south-westerly along this boundary to where it meets Flower Hill Avenue (parochial road No. 8), southerly along Flower Hill Avenue to the Flower Hill main road (parochial road No. 13B).

It then travels westerly along this main road to a track leading to Hartfield property opposite to the Salt Spring School, then northerly along this track to where it meets parochial road No. 10, St. James. From there it goes south westerly along this parochial road to where it meets Salt Spring main road, westerly along this main road to where it meets Green Pond main road, and easterly along the Green Pond main road to the eastern boundary of Farm Pen.

It then travels southerly along the eastern boundary of Farm Pen to the northern boundary of Catherine Hall Pen, westerly along the northern boundary of Catherine Hall Pen to the eastern Montego Bay boundary, south westerly along this boundary and then westerly in an imaginary line to Clarke Street. From there it goes along Clarke Street to the Mount Salem main road, westerly along this main road to Cottage Road, along Cottage Road to Barnett Street, along Barnett Street to Fustic Road, along Fustic Road to the railway line, along the railway line to the Barnett River, along Barnett River to the sea, and northerly along the seacoast to the starting point at Running Gut.

Of the 12 contested Parliamen-tary general elections in St. James North-Western 1944-1997, the PNP won nine times to three for the JLP. The fact that the JLP did not put up a candidate in the 1944 election speaks volume for the very strong and consistent support given to the PNP by the electors of St. James North-Western as in 11 attempts, the PNP won nine times.

Allan George St. Claver Coombs and Howard Felix Cooke are household names in St. James North-Western. It is interesting to note that both these two political giants lost the first election they contested and went on to win three consecutive elections. Howard Felix Cooke got a majority of 4,568 in 1972 when he polled 7,062 votes to 2,494 for Hewart Henriques of the JLP, the highest margin in St. James North-Western.

Carl Miller, who won this seat in 1989 with a convincing 2,645 majority, returned in 1993 with a mere 925 majority. Francis Tulloch, who won the West Central St. James seat in 1976 by a 2,983 majority and the Hanover Eastern seat in 1993 by 1,687, replaced Carl Miller as the PNP candidate in the 1997 general election. Francis Tulloch duly obliged, as he retained the seat for the PNP by polling 7,943 votes to defeat Horace Chang, JLP, who polled 6,691 votes. The NDM candidate Pat Austin polled 551 votes.

It is interesting to note that Francis Tulloch was defeating Horace Chang for the second time; the first time was in the 1993 general election for the constituency of Hanover Eastern. In winning the North West St. James seat, Francis Tulloch created history by becoming the first parliamentarian to have won elections in four different constituencies in two different parishes.

His victories were as follows: St. James Central 1972, St. James West Central 1976, Hanover Eastern 1993 and St. James North-West 1997. This noble son of the soil hung up his gloves in August 2001 and was replaced by Gordon Brown, a young and dynamic attorney-at-law. Horace Chang, the JLP candidate, in his third attempt to return to Gordon House is extremely confident that he will once again ascend those steps representing another constituency in a different parish; the first being Hanover Western (1980-1989).

Can the new kid on the block deny Dr. Horace Chang his expressed desire to represent the constituency of St. James North-Western? This will be yet another close contest in which the incumbent party presently has a very marginal lead. Will this lead hold true on election day? The swing of the pendulum points to a PNP victory ­ but only just.

GENERAL ELECTION (PARLIAMENTARY) ­ PROJECTION 2002

General Elections (Summary) 1944 ­ 1997
St. James North Western

Anthony Myers is a statistician and political analyst who has done work for the Electoral Office of Jamaica and for the People's National Party.