ATTORNEY-AT-LAW and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Member of Parliament-elect for St Elizabeth South Western Floyd Green has attributed his success in last Thursday’s general election to hard work, communication, a dedicated campaign team, and a strong social media presence.

Green polled 9,901 votes to defeat People’s National Party (PNP) incumbent Hugh Buchanan who received 7,813 votes after a preliminary count. This is the highest number of votes ever registered by any JLP candidate in the weathervane constituency. Buchanan, in the 2011 General Election, had defeated former Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton by 13 votes.

“I think there are a combination of things that resulted in us being successful in South West St Elizabeth. I think, for instance, we had a very strong and dedicated team of individuals who really went all out to ensure that on the day of election we were very organised. I think our workers worked very hard in getting out those people who wanted to support us in a constituency which is vast and has such very difficult terrain,” Green told the Jamaica Observer on Saturday.

He said constituents had come to the realisation that representation had reached “its lowest level” in the constituency’s history and were now pushing for change.

“I tried to ensure that our campaign wasn’t about JLP and PNP, but that it was about the sort of representation that we deserve as a people and the standard of representation — representation which we speak on the behalf of the people regardless of their issue, regardless of their community; representation that is action-based and not just about talk,” the former Generation 2000 (G2K) boss said.

Added to his meticulous campaigning were several programmes implemented by him during his time as Opposition caretaker for the seat. These include his much-touted ‘Right from Start’ initiative and the ‘Water Tank in School’ project which benefited basic and primary schools.

“I spoke out on the issues that mattered most to the people, issues like the road, the infrastructure, things like Black River Hospital, things like Black River High School, [these] are things that really resonated with the people [and] I spent the time going around and getting to know the people and allowed them to get to know me and I understand, being from St Elizabeth, how important that was to the people,” he said.

“They want to know their member of parliament, they want to talk to him, they want him or her to listen and to share their own views because a lot of the people who are in St Elizabeth, not only do they recognise the problems they are facing, but they have suggestions for solutions. So I think all of those things, a well-run campaign, a well-structured campaign, a campaign that was message- and issue-based, but not about personality, and a team that was dedicated, motivated and wanted to see the change; I think all of that led to the outcome,” added Green.

Meanwhile, he fingered poor representation as the reason Buchanan lost at the polls. He said his political rival had betrayed the “belief, faith and trust” of the people and as a result “they weren’t willing to come back out”.

“It’s well known that a number of people in his own party thought he was not doing a good job and frankly expressed desires to get rid of him. So I think that did impact upon him. So on his hand, I think without a doubt, just how he conducted himself as a representative and just his sort of, or the lack thereof, proper representation came back to bite,” the young MP-elect said, adding that the young constituents, especially, were moving away from the practice of voting strictly along party lines.

At the same time, he said while it is his hope that the tides are changing and that Jamaicans will now vote on issues, he could not say this election victory for the Labour Party, whose advertisements were centred on issues, was any indication of this.

“I truly do hope so. [But] I wouldn’t say that we have turned the corner completely on being more issue-based and less traditional in terms of our choices. I still think a lot of the people, young and old people, made their decisions based on tradition but I think definitely more of the young people are less loyal to that sort of tradition. I don’t know if we’ve reached the majority figure for our young people but I can tell you, a lot of them are now willing to step away… at the end of the day it makes no sense your party is in power if the representative is not doing the work,” Green said.

And although his margin of victory – 2,088 votes – is something to write home about, and with history showing that the party which wins the southern seat wins the general election, Green refuses to get comfortable.

“I think what the last two elections have shown is that …if you lose connection with the people, the people feel like you are no longer representing their interest, they will get rid of you. So at the end of the day, while I’m very happy with the margin, and I think the margin is a testament to the work and how you connected with the people, what we can’t do as a party, or me as a representative, is to get comfortable.

“We’ve seen big margins in that seat being erased before, and part of my job is to ensure that that doesn’t happen. The fact is that at the end of the day I want to ensure that through my work, through the representation that I will give to the people, that the next time we will increase our margin regardless of what is happening nationally. I said to my constituents, ‘all politics is local’; so at the end of the day, it is about serving your constituents and serving them well to the best of your ability,” he told the

Observer.

“I am new to politics, this is the first time being in representational politics and I’ve said, ‘you know I’ve always wanted to represent St Elizabeth if I’m going to go into politics, because I’m from here’. I understand the people and I think we work too hard to get some standard representation. So the fact that now the people have put their faith and trust in me, my job is to ensure that I leave the seat on my terms. At the end of the day, it is my intention to ensure that with my representation, each time we go back to the polls the people will choose me until I decide not to go back. That is how I look at it,” he added.

In the meantime, the fast-rising star said, if called upon, he would humbly take up ministerial duties, although that is not at the forefront of his mind.

“I’m interested in service and representing the Jamaican people and the people of South West to the best of my ability at any level,“ he said. “If the leader, now prime minister, calls upon me to serve at a higher level in terms of ministry, whether it be as a minister or minister of state, I would be honoured.

“It’s something I would do to the best of my ability with the understanding that at the end of the day my first responsibility is to my constituents and anything I do, I will think about my constituents and the constituency first. That is how I look at it, because I think you are a member of parliament first,” he told the Observer.