Sidelined by JLP, Cytall finds haven with Comrades
Published:Friday | March 11, 2022 | 12:11 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
Embattled Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor for the Troja division, William Cytall, generated ripples among his political colleagues when he switched political allegiance during a meeting of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation on Thursday.
Cytall, who won the division on a JLP ticket in the 2016 local government elections, has had irreconcilable differences with St Catherine North East Member of Parliament Kerensia Morrison that led to him being dropped from the party’s slate of candidates to contest the next polls due by 2023.
There were whispers of the move days before the meeting, but the first indication came when Cytall voted in favour of a motion moved by the People’s National Party (PNP) councillors before he had announced his decision to jump ship.
He formally declared himself an independent councillor, but Norman Scott, chairman of the corporation, told Cytall that there was no provision in the by-laws for neutrality and that he would have to side with either of the parties.
Cytall did not hesitate in accepting the chairman’s offer of a seat on the governing side and thanked his former Labourite colleagues individually for the opportunity to serve with them.
In an interview with The Gleaner after the meeting, the turncoat said he was shocked by utterances by Area Council Chairman Everald Warmington that he was being replaced by another candidate.
“Even though I had heard it through the grapevine, I thought I would have got it in an official letter. It was only to see somebody coming inside the division saying that the seat has been declared vacant and that I am being replaced,” Cytall disclosed.
He continued: “Knowing that the democratic process is that you go through the delegates to get access to the candidacy. It was very disturbing.”
Cytall said that he consulted with his divisional directors, among others, before making the move.
Scott, speaking in his capacity as deputy chairman of the PNP, said that the party has accepted Cytall’s application for membership.
“Cytall has long displayed democratic socialist tendencies, and I think he has found a home on this side,” said Scott.
No decision has been made on Cytall’s suitability for PNP candidacy in the Troja division.
Today’s move by Cytall has given the PNP a two-seat majority in the council.