Girl power out west
PNP offering up three women to unseat men in majority of St James constituencies
Published:Monday | February 17, 2025 | 10:04 AMRochelle Clayton/Staff Reporter -
WESTERN BUREAU:
Three St James women, who will contest the upcoming general election on the People’s Party National (PNP) ticket, are seeking to topple their male counterparts in a quest for ‘girl power’.
The women are Nekeisha Burchell, who will face Homer Davis, former Montego Bay mayor and member of parliament (MP) for St James Southern; Janice Allen, who will face Heroy Clarke in St James Central; and Rushell Reid-Knott, who will face veteran politician Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s tourism minister. The PNP trio are expected to be joined by Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) MP for St James West Central Marlene Malahoo Forte as the fourth woman on the ballot for the parish in the upcoming election.
Allen, speaking with The Gleaner yesterday during a PNP tour of St James, said she is dedicated to representing the residents of St James Central and has received the nod of approval for the next election.
“I’m very confident that the PNP will fare well in St James Central, and we will have a PNP member of parliament, the first female member of parliament in this constituency. [This is] a young constituency that requires representation that is respectful, filled with integrity, and recognising that we must be connected with the people to advance the policies that will change their lives. We are the city, and we must now get the representation that our city deserves.”
“I’ve been around for a while and … have grown to understand the St James political landscape. I am very confident that I will be very competitive in the next election. The reality is that I know my competitor might have underestimated me when I entered the race, but I know now that he has to recognise that I’m not here for the short term. I’m here for the long term, and the people are responding to that,” said Allen.
Burchell, who considers herself “a daughter of the soil”, has also stated that she is gathering support in St James Southern as she attempts to represent the people. According to her, the people are looking for a change in political representative after “10-year of decay under the JLP”.
“The campaign has been so invigorating, precisely because I’m a daughter of the soil. They’ve embraced me. I think the mothers feel like I’m their daughter, the children feel like I’m their sibling, and so it has become a community effort to get one of their own in office to represent them,” said Burchell.
“South St James has really suffered in recent times from neglect. I call it a near 10-year decade of decay under the JLP, and even though this MP tries to claim that he’s only been there for one term, the people really have been over him, over his government, and they are asking for their own daughter to come out and represent them. And I’m ready to do it. I’m ready to root for South,” she added.
Meanwhile, Reid-Knott, a rookie to politics, told The Gleaner that she is convinced that she will end Bartlett’s 23-year political career after the next elections. She explained that being a native of the constituency has given her an advantage, and she is equipped with first-hand experience of the residents’ plight.
“East Central St James now needs the change. The change that we need is someone who knows the woes of the people, who has been there for the 22 years and has seen the poor-quality leadership, someone from the soil who can represent the constituency. The people want somebody who will lead with them. Somebody who is going to be there in it for the long haul, and we will make the change that we all deserve together,” said Reid-Knott.