GRANVILLE, St James — High school teacher Jovian Kerr has the daunting task of doing something no one has ever done, dethrone the People’s National Party’s Michael Troupe as councillor for the Granville Division in St James.

But Kerr believes he can do it. His confidence comes from his belief that the people of Granville need a change from Troupe who has represented them since he first ran in 1998.

“Being on the ground, talking to the people on the ground, they need a change; not ‘want’ a change, they ‘need’a change in Granville,” Kerr told the
Jamaica Observer.

He said he is basing this on how receptive they have been to him. He is also banking on the fact the he is from the division, one of the people who he is seeking to represent.

“I’m from Granville actually; from Gordon Crescent,” Kerr declared proudly.

“I’ve also worked in the Granville Division before; I’ve worked with the labour party,” he added.

Kerr said he was the JLP’s supervisor for polling division 28, at Gordon Crescent, in the most recent local and general elections.

His work on the ground has given him the confidence he needs to go up against the longest-serving councillor in St James.

“I don’t feel daunted. As I said before, the people speak and on election day the people of Granville will speak,” Kerr stated as he declared that he is “super confident” that he will bring home the division for the JLP, something all his predecessors have failed to accomplish since Troupe was elected.

Kerr explained that he has already pinpointed certain areas for attention when he is elected councillor and he intends to work closely with the Member of Parliament for St James West Central, Marlene Malahoo Forte (JLP).

“The Member of Parliament would have done a lot of work in Granville and we want to continue it. Work such as getting persons proper road infrastructure, and you hear the prime minister speaking about it,” he said.

“The Member of Parliament would have put some things in place to get proper lighting, proper water and we need to get those things enacted,” added Kerr.

He provided his view on the benefit of councillors and their MPs being from the same political party.

“We need to have a councillor there to stretch the labour party’s work into Granville much better, so that persons can see and feel the prosperity flow across Granville just like most other divisions that have labour party councillors,” explained the man seeking the people’s mandate for the first time.

General secretary for the Jamaica Labour Party Dr Horace Chang, who has made no secret of the fact that he thinks Troupe is a formidable opponent, told the
Observer that Kerr has a good shot at winning.

“Troupe is not the easiest candidate to beat but he [Kerr] is a good candidate; one of the best candidates we’ve had in the seat,” Dr Chang opined.

Troupe trounced the JLP’s Nomora Morle in 1998, coming out by 224 votes ahead of Morle’s 631. He beat Morle again in 2003, this time by 364 votes to Morle’s 1,132. Troupe’s margin of victory increased to 428 in 2007 when he beat Allan Causwell who got 908 votes. In 2012, Troupe was ahead by 715 votes to Alphanso Cunningham’s 954. At the last election in 2016, his margin of victory fell for the first time in almost two decades. Troupe won by 527 votes to Tyrane Gordon’s 1,226.

Gordon, whose performance last time has been the first hint that Troupe’s popularity — while undeniably robust — may be waning, is Kerr’s campaign manager this time around.