WELL-known attorney-at-law Oswest Senior-Smith will be looking to change the political tide in St Catherine North Eastern for the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) and reverse his fortunes in representational politics when Prime Minister Andrew Holness sends Jamaicans to the polls not long from now.

Residents in the rural constituency have hung the PNP out to dry in the political wilderness for close to 20 years, with the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) claiming victory in four of the last six general elections.

The JLP has also won 11 of the 15 parliamentary elections held in the constituency since 1944, though the margins of victory have been less than convincing in recent times.

Armed with knowledge of the latter and a witness to the ills of the underdeveloped space, Senior-Smith is seeking to wrestle the reins of leadership from the ruling party whose incumbent Leslie Campbell has opted to throw in the towel.

Campbell has not responded to several requests for an interview, but the Jamaica Observer has learnt that he is expected to be replaced by JLP Senator Kerensia Morrison after an assessment of the seat by the party’s leadership revealed that he has lost traction among constituents.

Attempts to reach Morrison for an interview were also unsuccessful.

But the latest development has seemingly not fazed Senior-Smith who, during an interview with the Observer in the constituency a week ago, declared that he has been canvassing since 2017.

He has written off the JLP hierarchy there as dismal and has described the party’s track record over the years as one of abandonment of the constituency.

“The evidence of this constituency is that it has been a bastion of support for the Jamaica Labour Party, certainly for the last 19 years or several successive general elections that the country has had since then. Even a by-election has been held and the Jamaica Labour Party has been returned to power, but, the residents have realised that it is utter neglect; that they have been taken for granted [and] that because it is said that this is JLP territory the members of Parliament who come do absolutely nothing. They say whatever they do or don’t do the JLP will always win here,” he pointed out.

The lawyer is also well aware of the fact that the last PNP victory in that seat came in 1997 when Phyllis Mitchell defeated the JLP’s Abraham Dabdoub by a mere 37 votes. However, a court challenge brought on by Dabdoub saw her losing the seat in 2001.

Senior-Smith has centred his campaign on long-standing issues plaguing the constituency such as the absence of potable water, a poor road network and unemployment, and is banking on promises he made to residents to come up with solutions to get him over the finish line. The odds, he claims, will be in his favour when Holness rings the bell.

According to the 52-year-old — who has returned to representational politics just over a decade after a whipping from the late Minister of Labour and Social Security Shahine Robinson in the 2007 Parliamentary Elections in St Ann North Eastern — his focus is to remedy the 28-year water crisis impacting constituents, push for broader implementation of wireless Internet, lower the unemployment rate and rehabilitate roads.

“Right across, I have reduced them [residents’ concerns[ to four basic problems; simple to look after, in my view. I call it WWWR — water, work, WiFi [and] road. That’s my platform,” he declared.

The message, he said, is already resonating with residents whose daily lives are characterised by the fetching of water from streams which run through the constituency or forking out thousands of dollars for the scarce commodity.

“It is captivating the imagination of the residents because they know the challenges they face daily. I don’t have to pull any wool over any eyes. It is straight-forward. Now, the margin of victory dwindled to 121 in 2016 and I can say to you as someone who has been on the ground and working, my intentions have resonated right across the three divisions with the residents who are the voters, of course,” the lawyer added.

The PNP’s standard-bearer said, while the JLP has been at the helm of the constituency for almost two decades, there has been no corresponding development in the three divisions of Guy’s Hill, Mount Industry and Troja.

The JLP tallied more votes than the PNP in the Guy’s Hill Division during the February 2016 General Election with 2,379 to 1,870, while the PNP marginally won the Mount Industry and Troja divisions with 1,904 and 1,989 to the JLP’s 1,862 and 1,644, respectively.

However, in the November 2016 local government elections the JLP won two of the three divisions — Guy’s Hill and Troja — while the PNP won Mount Industry.

Senior-Smith is backing himself to raise the party’s profile in the divisions and told the Observer that intense campaigning on the ground has started to show favourable signs for his team.

“Even in the Guy’s Hill Division, which traditionally has remained steadfast for the Jamaica Labour Party, the rebellion is such, the aversion to what is going on, is such that even in the Guy’s Hill Division in areas like Benbow they are saying that they want to see a change. So I’ve been inviting the residents to consider and we’re getting some traction to vote change in 2020,” said Senior-Smith, a father of four whose family has grown “accustomed” to him being away from home for work.

And while some constituents have openly called for a representative born and raised in the area, the lawyer believes that he fits the bill as someone who spent much of his early years in the Cedar Valley/Redwood area.

“There were areas of the constituency that I didn’t know, so I’ve spent the time trying to properly acquaint myself on getting to know players in the constituency and getting around, socialising, meeting the people and, very importantly, evaluating what are the needs and what can be done.

“The constituents are intelligent people. They have seen what their needs are. They have seen that those needs are not extraordinary and unreasonable. They are everyday concerns. Now having identified their needs, having lived their needs every day, they realise that no delivery has come to them from the Jamaica Labour Party, particularly for the last 19 years. They see where what I’m proposing is no pie in the sky. They are seeing that their problems can be resolved and based on what I’m offering they have confidence that I will be able to assist because that is what I am here to do: Assist [with] improving their quality of life,” he said.