SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland – The three Westmoreland councillors who last week resigned from the People’s National Party (PNP) on Thursday made their first move in a political chess game that is set to yank leadership of the municipal corporation from the party.

Councillors Ian Myles (Little London Division), Garfield James (Sheffield Division), and Lawton McKenzie (Grange Hill Division) joined Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillors in a motion moved by Rudolph Uter (Frome Division) that resulted in the PNP’s Councillor Danree Delancy being unseated as deputy mayor of Savanna-la-Mar.

He has been replaced by Myles.

After the contentious vote, political analysts suggested that the stage was now set for the disgruntled former PNP councillors to move against Mayor Bertel Moore (PNP, Negril Division) at next month’s meeting of the municipal corporation. It was not clear, however, whether the mayorship would go to one of the three now independent councillors or a member of the JLP caucus if the move is made.

Shortly after being removed Delancy, obviously bruised by the vote, rose and addressed the meeting.

“Today, Your Worship, I have been made a sacrificial lamb. I have no ill will against anyone,” he said before reaffirming his commitment to the people who voted for him.

“I will continue to serve my constituents of the Bethel Town Division. I will continue to do so to the best of my ability and I hope and trust that the affairs of this council continue to be managed in a proper and efficient manner,” stated Delancy.

“This is not the end of Delancy’s political career. After the next parish council election, I shall return here as councillor for the Bethel Town Division,” added Delancy, who thanked the PNP for allowing him to run on its ticket.

Thursday’s meeting was expected to have been stormy after the three councillors resigned from the PNP last Monday in protest against the party’s decision to have Ian Hayles as the parliamentary candidate for Westmoreland Western in the next general election.

Hayles got the green light during an internal election by delegates in the constituency on June 4 after Councillor James withdrew from the selection process, alleging irregularities with the delegates’ list.

Since then, Comrades who had wanted James to get the nod have consistently expressed displeasure with the PNP hierarchy, which they accuse of not listening to the people at the grass roots level.

There was significant interest in where Mayor Moore stood on the issue as he was expected at last Monday’s press conference held by the three former PNP councillors. However, he did not turn up.

The sitting of the corporation went fairly well until the motion was moved to have Delancy removed.

The motion resulted in a long debate and verbal barbs being hurled across the floor as the councillors discussed the by-laws of the council and the Municipal Corporation Act of 2016.

Some PNP councillors insisted that the by-laws were not rescinded to make way for the new law.

However, Mayor Moore, who struggled to control the meeting and insisted that he would need legal advice, later accepted that the 2016 Act supersedes the by-laws.

This paved the way for the vote which resulted in seven nods for the motion and four against.

“What transpired here today was really a delay tactic in trying to prohibit the inevitable, and that’s what the PNP councillors were doing because they know the laws, but I guess they were coached to do that,” new Deputy Mayor Myles told the Observer.

“I am elated, in that the councillors have that confidence in me to bestow that position upon me to lead as the deputy here. It says a lot and it is for me to work in tangent with His Worship, Mayor Bertel Moore, to give him all the support that is necessary and to use my creative inclination to propel this corporation and move it forward in that direction so that the citizens of this parish can enjoy some better kind of representation,” stated Myles.

The boisterous meeting was observed by Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie and Members of Parliament Morland Wilson (Westmoreland Western), Daniel Lawrence (Westmoreland Eastern), and George Wright (Westmoreland Central) who had won the seat on a JLP ticket but has since become independent.

“Today, for me, was a mixed reaction because one of the disappointments is that it is clear that some of our councillors are not au fait with the laws that govern local government,” McKenzie told the Observer.

He argued that the steps that were taken to stall the resolution were unfortunate.

“While there was strong dissent on either side, there was a level of respect which is a part of the democracy that the country is enjoying under the Government of Prime Minister Andrew Holness,” he added.

“There is definitely a shift in the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation and I am hoping that this shift is for the betterment of the municipality. I am sure that, based on what I have seen and what I have heard, there is a determination to improve the quality of service here in Westmoreland and I think this is the start of something positive,” McKenzie said.