Former PNP caretaker candidate Andrea Moore Phillips has died

The People's National Party (PNP) has been plunged into mourning after news emerged last night that former caretaker candidate for Portland Eastern, Andrea Moore Phillips, died following a brief illness.

Minority leader at the Portland Municipal Corporation and councillor for the Port Antonio division,  Dexter Rowland, expressed shock at what he described as the untimely passing of Moore Phillips. He said she was always active and well loved by party supporters, especially in East Portland. 

"She was very charismatic and committed to politics, and she was a defender to the policies of the People's National Party," said Rowland. 

"East Portland has lost a true political warrior and she was a people person, who wanted so much to create a better way of life for the people. She was passionate about serving and she will be sadly missed. Her love for politics is second to none and I am still trying to cope with the news of her passing," he added.

Moore Phillips, who was reportedly actively involved in mobilising the PNP at a time when there was disunity among party supporters, is best remembered for her successful challenge to then incumbent, the late Dr Lynvale Bloomfield, in 2015, defeating him in an internal election by five votes.

But despite her victory during the selection, it was later overturned, a decision that did not go down well with some party supporters, who were, at that time, clamouring for the removal of Bloomfield. 

Moore Phillips, a former attorney, however, threw her full support behind Bloomfield, which resulted in the late member of parliament winning the East Portland seat by more than 3,000 votes in the 2016 parliamentary elections, defeating Derron wood of the Jamaica Labour Party.

- Gareth Davis

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