SANDY BAY, Hanover — Though she believes she has done a lot in her first term as councillor for the Sandy Bay Division, Andria Dehaney Grant has a lot more she wants to do.

The Comrade is hoping the voters will return her to office so she can continue the work she has started in the division that has traditionally voted for the People’s National Party (PNP).

“I believe that I deserve to be given the opportunity to continue the work started and serve my people,” Dehaney Grant, who is also deputy mayor of Lucea, told the
Jamaica Observer.

She won by 625 votes in 2016, a smooth transition from Lloyd Hill (PNP), a former mayor of Lucea.

In an interview with the Observer Dehaney Grant, who described herself as “tested and proven to be a hard-working, honest, caring and committed councillor”, reeled off a long list of what she considers her accomplishments over the last eight years.

“I have rehabilitated many roads, such as Bulla Town in Cascade, Beans Lane, Elgin Town, and sections of Burntside Road in Maryland. We have distributed tablets; assisted students with paying fees for schools and colleges; rehabilitated the Sandy Bay Community Centre in collaboration with Grand Palladium [Resort and Spa]; [provided an] annual award for top PEP [Primary Exit Profile] mathematics students in all primary schools in the division; done rehabilitation and installation of garbage receptacles; initiated health and back-to-school fairs and kids treats; assisted the elderly with care packages, medication, wheelchairs, and other items; provided lawn mowers to assist communities to maintain their playfield; and we have started the first community marching band in the parish of Hanover; among many other things,” stated Dehaney Grant.

She added: “My plan going forward is to continue to create a positive impact in the lives of the people I serve. I would like for the division to have a structured marketplace where persons can buy and sell their wares, to rehabilitate all the parochial roads in the division, create a training opportunity for all communities so that the young and elderly have an opportunity to learn a skill, continue to build each community through sports, have a structured project to assist the less fortunate in each community.”

She explained that roads are at the top of her agenda.

“The road network across the parish, more so the Sandy Bay Division, is not good. So it’s my main aim to continue to lobby for the people in my division so that they have proper infrastructure. They deserve that and that’s my priority,” stated Dehaney Grant.

Married with two children, Adrian and Tiana, Dehaney Grant has been an educator for more than 30 years. She is the principal of the Maryland Primary and Infant School in Hanover. She is also a two-time Lasco Principal of the Year regional awardee.

On February 26 she will be going up against a newcomer to politics who will be running on a Jamaica Labour Party ticket, Oraldo Anderson but Dehaney Grant, while accepting that victory is not guranteed, is confident that she can take home the seat for the PNP.

“Election is a competition, and you can’t say that you have won until all ballots are in the box and are counted. However, based on the work that our team in the Sandy Bay Division has done over the years, I believe that I have a very strong chance of winning this election,” stated Dehaney Grant.

“I am just grateful for the support of the people of the Sandy Bay Division. I will continue to make an effort to serve them well,” she added.