SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland – Deputy mayor of Savanna-la-Mar Ian Myles is ready for work.

Undaunted by legal manoeuvrings to keep him from being sworn into the position, the councillor (Independent, Little London Division) on Friday symbolically cut a blue and white ribbon draped across the door of his new office.

He was joined by fellow Independent member of the local authority, Garfield James who represents the Sheffield Division; Councillor Rudolph Uter (Jamaica Labour Party, Frome Division); Councillor Lee Simpson (JLP, Savanna-la-Mar South Division); and others.

Myles and James are two-thirds of a trio who resigned as members of the Opposition People’s National Party earlier this month, throwing the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation into disarray as the PNP’s grip on power weakened. There was further erosion after the Independents and the JLP councillors voted out then-Deputy Mayor Danree Delancy who represents the Bethel Town Division, and voted in Myles as his replacement.

Late Thursday, news emerged that there was a legal challenge being mounted to keep Myles from assuming office. A document sent to mayor of Savanna-la-Mar Bertel Moore and seen by the Jamaica Observer appears to indicate that an injunction was filed in the Civil Division of the Supreme Court on July 27. The grounds cited are that the July 13 resolution that installed Myles was not duly constituted.

“One has to question its legitimacy,” said Myles of the document which he said was riddled with errors, including the incorrect spelling of his name.

“That document is a document which has been served trying to pervert the course of justice. The decision which was taken by council for me to become the deputy mayor happened on the 13th. That doesn’t in itself require me to be sworn in and so that process of my taking on that responsibility would have started from [July] 13,” he added.

There had been a long debate at the meeting where Myles was voted in as deputy mayor and he remains convinced that the law is on his side.