Tufton back in Parliament
Published:Thursday | February 25, 2016 | 12:00 AMAnastasia Cunningham
Christopher Tufton can finally exhale.
After being out in the wilderness for four years, the one-time member of parliament (MP) for St Elizabeth South Western has finally found his way back to the House of Representatives, this time as MP for St Catherine West Central.
Tufton, a member of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), beat Clinton Clarke of the People's National Party (PNP) by 3,721 votes. Tufton polled 8,437 votes to Clarke's 4,716.
The victory for Tufton extended the JLP's hold on the seat, which dates back to 2002, when Dr Ken Baugh won the seat. The JLP stronghold had been held by Baugh for three electoral terms.
The post for constituency standard-bearer became vacant when Baugh, a senior member of the JLP, announced that he would retire from representational politics.
Amid controversy, in November last year, Tufton was named the JLP candidate for the constituency. He replaced Devon Wint, who was asked to resign amid certain allegations against him.
Tufton had lost an internal election to Wint by 15 votes earlier in the year.
The journey back to the House of Representatives has been a tumultuous ride for Tufton, who, after losing his seat in the 2011 general election, has faced one challenge after another within the JLP. In addition to being voted out as a deputy leader, Tufton was ousted from the Senate in the infamous pre-signed and undated resignation letter saga that ended up in the courts.
He, along with Arthur Williams, was reinstated to the Senate following a ruling from the courts in February last year.
TOUGH TASK AHEAD
Tufton now has a tough task ahead of him to prove himself worthy to his constituents as he had faced strong opposition to being named the candidate to represent them.
Members of the JLP had protested the move, including burning T-shirts with his image.
A former agriculture and fisheries minister during the 2007-2011 JLP administration, Tufton narrowly lost his St Elizabeth South Western seat in the 2011 election to the PNP's Hugh Buchanan. He had won the seat in the 2007 election, beating the PNP's the Reverend Stanley Redwood by 1,825 votes.
Tufton said that his four-year stint as MP for St Elizabeth South Western resulted in several benefits to Black River, including new produce, meat and fish markets; a computer lab for students and adults at the Black River Primary School; three new basic schools; and piped water and resurfaced roads in the Slipe district.
He said that St Elizabeth South Western is better off today because of the four years of his leadership.
Tufton is married with three children.