THUNDEROUS applause tends to greet People’s National Party (PNP) member of parliament Damion Crawford when he enters a room or takes the stage. This was so even before he actually ascended to that post in the just-concluded general election.

It happened when he was first introduced to the PNP masses at Papine square as the official candidate for the vast St Andrew East Rural constituency. It happened the moment his charismatic and clever words caught the ears of constituents. It happened when the televised ballot count on December 29, 2011 confirmed his election win, and it happened again last Friday when he was finally sworn in as MP at King’s House.

This seeming star-power has propelled the young dreadlocked Crawford to the enviable position of “most loved candidate” on the campaign trail during the election campaign, if one university researcher is to be believed.

Crawford got this distinction, said University of the West Indies researcher and anthropologist Dr Herbert Gayle, in a pre-election ‘snapshot’ study, looking at popular candidates on the campaign trail.

He is followed in ranked order by Lisa Hanna, Portia Simpson Miller, Julian Robinson, Andrew Holness, Andre Hylton, and Karl Samuda.

The researcher even went so far as to suggest that based on the comments of the seven members of the PNP, and the five members of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) canvassed who ‘favourited’ Crawford in the study, Holness, the former prime minister and now leader of opposition who represents the West Central St Andrew constituency, “would have lost if Damion Crawford was selected to run against him”.

The Sunday Observer caught up with the young member of Parliament, now state minister for tourism, and entertainment, at his home the day after the December 29 general election. His voice heavy with fatigue then, Crawford was resting off the previous six weeks of campaigning.

“…I wanted to get some rest, to sleep and try to put everything into perspective,” he said, reflecting on his 500-vote margin defeat of Joan Gordon-Webley, his senior in age as well as experience.

“It comes down to the work,” he said, by way of explanation of that unexpected victory and his surprising popularity.

“She (Gordon-Webley) was an MP for several years, she had more experience in the area and of the area, but the people seem to have a particular belief in me and what they think I will bring, and they just decided to work as hard they could. Some of them without pay or remuneration, and I believe that is what took us over the edge,” he explained.

“I think it was the first time they were going to hear how a candidate for member of parliament would explain how they intended to achieve something and they were impressed by that and I am grateful to them,” added Crawford.

“I have built a reputation as a person who offers solutions. I had an expansive plan that included my flagship ‘3-2-1’ plan. The people liked when they heard me explain it and how simple I broke it down and how simple it would be to achieve,” said Crawford.

The 3-2-1 Education Plan was sold by Crawford’s campaign team as a means of ensuring higher education levels among constituents. It is pinned on the five-year goal of having three CXC subjects per household, 10 years thereafter having two A-Levels per household, and five years after that having one degree per household.

“But again, it comes down to the work, because the people who were working for my campaign, they went out and spread the message that I was the only one to have a plan for the constituency,” he said.

“As it relates to other activities, we went with a sustainable development campaign. I explained to them that there were different types of politics. There was the politics where you go see the MP and you get $1,000. There is the bathroom politics, where you get things that you lose when you go to the bathroom; food and liquor to put you in a drunken stupor or excite you with music. And then there is the developmental politics that will give you things that will benefit you after. “

He said he used this premise to launch a programme of campaign activities based on filling constituents’ needs.

“So, we had a health fair; we had a legal fair where we gave people access to lawyers like Churchill Neita and Valerie Neita. We had JPs (justices of the peace) guiding them through the process of filling out their passport forms; there were children who needed their birth papers and things like that. We also had sports activities and used most of the money to get GoGSAT access for the schools,” said Crawford.

The free medical services resonated with the constituents, it seemed.

“I like it, because it’s different and out of the box,” said one female supporter following the health fair at Taylor Lands Basic School in Bull Bay.

“He (Crawford) never came and gave us money that we can survive off for half hour and then expect a vote. That is easy and almost like a disrespect. The fair shows that he came to the areas and looked at what we needed for the place to improve and came back with a solution. That takes effort, care and planning. That, to me, is better,” she added.

But sustaining this type of project costs money. Does Crawford think he will be able to deliver in a declining economy and with the spectre of the IMF hanging over his party?

“When we calculated our 3-2-1 plan it was actually $5 million a year, but because we are using the same infrastructure, we’re going to have the volunteers for the homework centres and we will give stipends to the teachers in the night schools. But as it relates to education, there is a lot of funding out there and we plan to have the constituency NGO (non-governmental organisation) which will seek to raise funds for things like health and education like our mobile health centres. This money is in places like USAID and JSIF, and we will employ persons that will be paid on commission, 10 per cent of what they raise. I think we will be able to fund it. I think we will be able to inspire a spirit of volunteerism that any nation needs to push development.”

The appeal of his locked hair to the masses as a symbol that he is “of the people” is also not lost on the young politician, who has been described in press articles as having “that Rasta mystique”.

Crawford has said in the past that he locked his hair in homage to his father who had to cut his own locks off to get a job. Today, he keeps the hairstyle — hitherto a cause for workplace discrimination — to prove that external differences are no barrier to success.

“It was never about the Rastafarianism,” he said. “I was simply an example of the prejudices that exist in society and the struggle that continues. There are some persons who feel they have to bleach to make it in society, some people who feel they can’t apply for a job unless they change their address, because their current address is not acceptable. There are other persons who even said in the newspapers that they were not able to send their résumés out from HEART because “brownings” were preferred.

“Persons perceive that there is just this prejudice against locks and Rastafarianism but I never campaigned on it. I don’t think I should be barred because of it, I don’t think that I should be rewarded for it. I think I lost some support and gained some support because of it. I still feel proud of myself and proud of what I am and I have no intention to be changed because of people. One of the statements I made during the campaign is that I wanted to teach people that they don’t have to bleach to reach, and they don’t have to trim to win,” he declared, sharing some of that slick verbal styling that won over so many on the campaign platforms.

“They have named me in the constituency ‘the people’s gladiator’, so I have to ensure that I will fight for them and stand up for them,” said Crawford of the pressure that is likely to be brought to bear on him by constituents. “I feel the pressure, I understand it, but I also feel that I am ready to achieve, because I have always been fighting for the people.”

He will be bolstered, as he has always been, by the support of a loving family led by matriarch Lena ‘Miss Darkie’ Crawford, his biggest fan, who friends say sacrificed much to get her son where he is today. Crawford credits both his parents for his success.

“Not just my mother, my (late) father, my family, my uncle, everyone pitched in. I owe them everything,” he said, pointing out that they not only supported his dream with prayer and, equally critical, the finances, but also by actively campaigning for him.

“My mother came along with anything I decided to do and when I decided on politics, regardless of her fear that politics has corrupted many and even taken the lives of a few, she came along, like my sister and the others, and worked above and beyond to ensure that I was victorious. So I owe to my parents and my family and my friends, everything, because it was the funds, the volunteerism of my friends and family that put me through.”

As for the contentious election issue of youth versus experience, which some said worked in his favour but backfired for the JLP on the whole, Crawford said he has never seen this as a completely defining force in political leadership.

“I was one of the first to come out against this sort of demographic classification of leadership based on the concept ‘young people time’. I have long stated that it cannot be on the basis of age, it cannot be based on religion, it cannot be based on gender, it must be based on a particular outlook and a particular mindset, and so I wasn’t a party to the ‘young people time’ concept,” said Crawford.

“I didn’t think the people were fooled into thinking that change would come by changing the age demographic,” he said, dismissively.

Crawford acknowledges he is stepping into an arena where it is easy to change one’s noble intentions and succumb to the trappings afforded by political corruption, but has no intention of slipping into this abyss.

“I didn’t change when I was (UWI students’) Guild president, I didn’t change when I was president of the (PNP) YO, I didn’t change when I was Taylor Hall chairman. I have always been like this and I will continue to be like this. I think the people will always keep me on track. If I can continue to represent the people and speak openly on what I think I am right on, and to stay close to them and take correction when I am incorrect, then I will become very successful.”

Though he is still a bachelor, the young MP is clear that his immediate future is wrapped up with his constituency, which he plans on representing for the next several decades. Any future Mrs Crawford will have to be more understanding than the average woman.

“She will have to understand that I have 30,000 plus children in my constituency and my mission is to ensure they all are successes,” said the MP.