Jesse Clarke recalls being a strong advocate for the growth and development of Jamaica, always willing to lend a helping hand and be the change he wanted to see during his adolescent years.

Now, as the People’s National Party (PNP) candidate for the Trafalgar Division in tomorrow’s local government election, Clarke has the opportunity to continue his service on a larger scale, if elected by residents.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, the young politician, who is also a University of Technology, Jamaica lecturer, shared that he is driven by a desire to make a change, and politics is the vehicle to do just that.

According to Clarke, when he was recruited from Damion Crawford’s campaign team by St Andrew South Eastern Member of Parliament Julian Robinson, he was ecstatic to work with residents in that constituency. He was even more overjoyed when he became the PNP’s choice to contest the Trafalgar Division, an opportunity that strengthened his love for the division.

“It has been an excellent experience. The delay [in calling the local government election] has really worked in my favour because it gave me enough time to gel with everybody and to get to know and to meet everybody and to learn the culture of the different communities as well as their needs,” said Clarke.

The election was due in 2020 but was postponed after the House of Representatives passed the Representation of the People (Postponement of Elections to Municipal Corporations and City Municipalities) Act, 2020. The Act was amended in 2022 and 2023, allowing for further postponement of the election date.

Clarke has acknowledged that tomorrow’s contest will not be easy as he will face Kari Douglas, who won the division as a member of the PNP in the previous local government election, but has since switched to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

“It’s looking good so far for us, but we are not taking anything for granted. I have a seasoned opponent, and we just continue to push through. The poll numbers are looking good, so we just want to maintain that momentum going all the way into the 26th. We are pushing right up until the finish line. We’re not easing up until the close of polls and counting,” he told the Sunday Observer.

Clarke said that if he’s elected he would tackle security issues in the division, having heard multiple reports from residents about break-ins. However, his main focus is increased accountability.

“Persons are not really aware of how much money the councillors get to spend in the division and what they use the money to do as well, so I want that to be one of the things I bring to the table, to have accountability, making sure that the residents are properly consulted about what I’m using the money to do,” he said.

Clarke further shared that he wants to increase the involvement of residents in discussions about developments to take place in the division.

“A lot of times residents feel left out of the process of deciding what kind of development takes place in their communities, and they’re surprised most times by the developments. Sometimes it is too late to do anything about it, so I want to be the eyes and ears of the residents at the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation so that whenever anything is happening that relates to the community I can relate that to them, even before they are formally informed,” he said.

The issue of night noise is also a problem that the young politician wants to address as well as infrastructure issues in the division. He said that he has already built and repaired several bathrooms in the division and hopes to continue that work.

Additionally, Clarke wants to expand a reading programme that he started to improve the level of education among constituents.

“We want to improve the literacy and numeracy in the division because once you are able to read, you will be able to take up other opportunities, and you can learn anything,” said Clarke.

“We want to ensure that our people can take up the different opportunities, whether it is skills training or to go to any of the universities in the division. We want to prepare the human resources to take up the opportunities that are out there and to become productive members of society,” he said.