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Women waiting to make a difference (12/02/2007)
Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter
Female candidates, who make up less than 20 per cent of those vying for a seat in Wednesday’s local government election, say they are hoping to making a difference.
Brown-Burke: Love to Serve
Angela Brown-Burke, People’s National Party (PNP) candidate for the Norman Gardens division, is one such woman. With nine years under her belt as a councillor, Brown-Burke, who was the minority leader in the last term of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), believes she can have an effect at the local level.
“I feel that so much can be done at the local level that is not being done, and when history is written, I would like to be one of those who would have helped to make a difference as far as local government is concerned,” she responds when asked if she has ambitions to enter representational politics at the national level.
Brown-Burke says she was inspired to become a councillor because of her love for community service. Her involvement in politics, however, began while in high school, where she was the first secretary of the then Yallahs Community Council in St. Thomas.
“I have always been community oriented and, when I came back from studying abroad, I started doing community work in Rockfort, and being involved in the party, it is just a natural extension of that kind of community spirit that I have,” the 48-year-old tells The Sunday Gleaner.
The Wolmerian believes she has made some inroads over the last nine years with the encouragement of community-based organisations in her division, as the Rockfort Development Council, among others.
The vice-president of the PNP says she is proud of her involvement with the community in addressing issues affecting them, such as crime and violence and protection of young females in the community.
“Although I have not seen the kind of results that I would want, I think that we have made strides and I am proud of that as well,” she states.
Porteous:not Fazed
Sally Porteous is the deputy mayor of Mandeville and is the incumbent councillor for the Mandeville division in Central Manchester. She also ran in the recent general election in Central Manchester where she was beaten by the PNP’s Peter Bunting.
However, Porteous is banking on the hard work she has done over the last four and a half years, which she believes should bring home the seat for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
“I have done my best, I don’t think that there is anything more that I could have possibly done over the last four and a half years,” she relates. “I sincerely hope that people recognise that and will want me back again.”
The 63-year-old says that, while she has challenges being a woman in a field dominated by men, this has not fazed her.
“It is still a boys’ club and the boys like to stick together. But if you can weave your way through that, it won’t bother you,” she reasons. “I think that sometimes people don’t think you can do it because you are a woman, they think you are not strong enough or will (not) push as hard. I have to remind them that you are not stronger than me, you are not more powerful than me and you are not going to do a better job than me. I am just as capable or determined.”
She believes that, over time, the society has become very harsh and cruel, and it needs nurturing. In this, she says, her commitment lies.
Spencer: No Doubts
Joan Spencer is the mayor of Morant Bay and the incumbent JLP councillor for Seaforth division. She is also a very confident woman and has no doubts that she will win her seat back.
“I am overconfident. As far as I am concerned, I have no competition,” she quips. “I have worked very hard over the last four years and don’t have to do any campaigning now, it’s just touching base with my key workers, so for formality I am out there.”
Her ambitions are boosted by consistent wins since 1998 when she ran as a councillor in the division. Although males dominate her council, Mayor Spencer is unperturbed.
“In the council, it is all right but you have some challenges out in the community where you interact with certain elements – the bad, the good and the indifferent will come to you for assistance,” she states.
But despite these challenges, she said she enjoys serving the community.
“I enjoy when somebody comes to me with a genuine need and I can help,” she says with pride.
McCormack: The First-Timer
Yvonne McCormack is a first-timer to politics but is no stranger in lobbying for the rights of her community. The last boycott she led was against the former Government in protest of the toll road charges in Portmore, St. Catherine. But while this did not yield the outcome she anticipated, she is determined to make a difference at the local level.
“I feel the need to change the look of local governance. I am a community person, but as a citizens’ association leader, you can only talk,” argues the PNP candidate for the Greater Portmore East division. “So, I am going where my voice can make a difference.”
So far, she has faced no major challenges as a female politician. She says she was, however, apprehensive that persons would be very critical of her representing the PNP, in light of her former leadership in the toll road issue.
“I think I have gained a lot of respect from that because people believe that if I was a closet PNP all along and took on the Government, then it means that I am not partial,” she says.
Ms. McCormack is the immediate past chairperson of the Portmore Citizens’ Advisory Committee and former secretary of the All Hellshire Leadership Council. She is a businesswoman and mother of two children.
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