Ramsay is first female mayor of Mandeville
MANDEVILLE, Manchester – The Jamaica Labour Party’s four-year hold over the Manchester Parish Council was officially broken last Thursday with the swearing in of People’s National Party (PNP) Councillor Brenda Ramsay (Bellefield Division) as the first ever female Mayor of Mandeville.
Councillor Ramsay, who once held the post of Deputy Mayor, was sworn-in unopposed to take over from the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Councillor Desmond Harrison (Christiana Division).
The Opposition PNP won eight of Manchester’s 15 parish council divisions in the December 5 Local Government Elections reversing the similar 8-7 margin held by the JLP in the previous Council. PNP Councillor Irwin Facey (Spur Tree Division) was sworn in as Deputy Mayor, replacing the JLP’s Sally Porteous (Mandeville Division). Ramsay, in her acceptance speech, thanked all those she said had shown support throughout her tenure in politics.
“I woke up this morning and thought to myself this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it,” Ramsay said to the cheers of her fellow PNP councillors.
“The question I am often asked is what is your vision of Manchester and my answer is to make Manchester the kind of place we are all proud to call home,” she added.
Providing, perhaps, the only negative on the day’s proceedings was the behaviour of many PNP supporters who had gathered outside the parish council building where they goaded and ‘booed’ the JLP councillors as they were being sworn-in.
Meanwhile, former Mayor of Mandeville, Desmond Harrison, in his address to the council, pointed to what he called the positive legacy of his administration.
“One of the legacies that I have left behind and wish to continue is that we continue to operate the Manchester Parish Council as the best parish council in Jamaica,” Harrison said. Following the ceremony, Ramsay was congratulated by several Members of Parliament, including JLP MP for North East Manchester and Finance Minister Audley Shaw, as well as opposition Member of Parliament for South Manchester Michael Peart; his brother Dean Peart, MP for NW Manchester; Robert Pickersgill, MP for North West St Catherine and Peter Bunting, Opposition MP for Central Manchester. Bunting said he was looking forward to working closely with the representatives of the Manchester Parish Council.
“I look forward to being able to co-operate with the Mayor and the majority in the council,” Bunting told the Observer following the ceremony.
“I was disappointed after my election as Member of Parliament when the former deputy Mayor and councillor for the Mandeville Division (Porteous) said she would be my worst nightmare because I had hoped that we could have worked collaboratively for the development of central Manchester. But I still reach out to councillor Porteous, and I hope that with the new Mayor we can develop a good working relationship,” Bunting said.