Mayor rewards Douglas with post
Published:Wednesday | March 11, 2020 | 12:28 AM
Political turncoat Kari Douglas was yesterday named deputy chairman of the Building and Town Planning Committee of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) weeks after cutting ties with the People’s National Party (PNP).
Douglas, councillor of the Trafalgar division, will take charge of town planning and engaging residents of the KSAMC on the city’s development plan and other issues.
This follows the resignation of Kingston Mayor Delroy Williams as chairman of the committee and the subsequent naming of Lee Clarke, councillor for the Whitehall division, as the new chairman.
Douglas’ appointment was not without controversy, as minority leader of the PNP, Councillor Andrew Swaby, contended that Douglas, who last month joined the ranks of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), was previously removed as a member of the committee.
However, Town Clerk Robert Hill informed the KSAMC that he did not receive a resignation letter from Douglas, thereby suggesting that she was still part of the committee.
Swaby, who represents the Vineyard Town division, also took issue with the ratio of JLP to PNP members on the committee, asserting that the mayor would have to resign from the committee altogether.
Williams, who is councillor for the Seivwright Gardens division, subsequently said that he would offer his resignation.
PNP councillors Eugene Kelly and Neville Wright were also appointed to the committee to fill vacancies left by Douglas and Councillor Dennis Gordon, who resigned last July.
The JLP has 22 seats in the KSAMC to the PNP’s 18.