Former Mount Salem councillor Charmaine Gillette Richards has died
Published:Monday | September 13, 2021 | 4:39 PM
Chairman of the St James Municipal Corporation and Mayor Montego Bay, Leeroy Williams, says the passing of former councillor Charmaine Gillette Richards is a loss of a gentle giant, a hard worker and a committed servant.
Gillette Richards, who served as councillor for the Mount Salem Division from 1996 to 2003, died today.
She passed away just months after going on pre-retirement leave after serving at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security for a number of years.
“With the passing of former councillor Gillette Richards, the people of St James in general and those in the Mount Salem Division in particular, have lost a champion. She served the then St James Parish Council with distinction and her record of service will stand the test of time,” said Williams in a statement.
“Former councillor Gillette Richards was never afraid of standing up for her people and standing up for what is right. She was unrelenting in getting projects done, not just in her division, but across the parish as she believed that the citizens must be served by their political representatives regardless of which party is in power,” he continued.
Meanwhile, minority leader in the municipal corporation, Councillor Michael Troupe, also reflected on the life of Gillette Richards.
“We were both elected councillors at the same time and immediately we became good friends. We shared the common view that we were elected to serve and we must serve the people, regardless of which political party they support. Former councillor Gillette Richards gave her all at the council and before that she served as parish manager at the Transport Authority in St James and only recently she went on pre-retirement leave after serving at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in St James.”
“She was a no-nonsense councillor who was passionate about her division and the service which she gave. Former councillor Gillette Richards was very jovial and although she was a native of St Mary, she adopted St James as her home and was loved by the citizens of this parish. We will miss her and I am sure her memories will live on.”
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