LUCEA, Hanover — Easton Edwards is marketing himself as the man who provided voters with “carpet” to drive on, who taught generations of families in his role as an educator, and the candidate best equipped to implement all the upcoming plans the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has for the Lucea Division.

The incumbent will face off against a political newcomer from the People’s National Party (PNP), Brian Chambers, in the local government polls on February 26.

Edwards is not worried about the challenge he will receive from Chambers, who has been the PNP’s chairman of the Hanover Western constituency for about two years and unsuccessfully ran for the constituency caretaker position in 2023. However, Edwards himself has a mixed record of wins. He was first elected councillor for the Lucea Division in 2007 when he beat the PNP’s Paul Trench by 194 votes. He lost by 453 votes to the PNP’s Neville Clare in 2012 and then regained the division in 2016, beating the PNP’s Hyacinth Shakes-Warren by 175 votes. Independent candidate Neville Humphrey did not manage to attract a single voter.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Edwards — a teacher of business at Rusea’s High School — rattled off a list of reasons he thinks he will be returned as councillor this time around.

“The people of the Lucea Division know a councillor who doesn’t have to pretend. I am a friend of the people. I taught their children and their grandchildren for many years. What I have done for this town and its environs is, as my grandmother would say, more than tongue can tell. So, I am not perturbed. I know that there must be somebody who will have to come up against me but, as per usual, we do what we have to do,” he said.

“It is going to be a third time with a serious amount of love and appreciation for the people who believe in the work that I have done over time,” Edwards added.

He gladly elaborated on some of his achievements during his 2016-2024 term as councillor.

“As you look around the Lucea space, Johnson Town Bar Lane is the latest. They have not seen a carpeted road for the past 25 years. If you go into the community of Kew, you will realise that half of the road that was done was done by me. If you check Bark Hill, which nobody could pass because the residents from Richmond had problems coming from that area and they had to drive through the Cacoon area, I was the one who dealt with that among others,” he stated.

His work, he said, speaks for itself.

“When you look at this councillor’s Instagram, you will realise that this councillor is not even a supervisor, he works. You will see him with a weed wacker [and] a chainsaw. So, can you imagine if I had the funding? This town would be a better place. So, Lucea and its environment, remember the name, Easton ‘Brown Dawg’ Edwards,” he said.

Edwards explained that he has a number of projects that he will tackle, as a priority, if given a third term in office. Among them is the ongoing work on the alternative route for Lucea and plans to give special attention to the town.

“I intend to carry on what those who should have done their job did not do. I will take it on and make sure that it is done, and in a proper manner,” he promised, adding that providing potable water is his number one priority.

He also urged voters to look beyond the local level.

“Remember the work of the prime minister and the Jamaica Labour Party. This election is not about Easton Edwards. It is about the eight years of prosperity, the eight years of economic growth and if you think along that line, remember we are not for sale. Do not allow anybody to promise you a washing machine, to give you $5,000, because that cannot sustain you. Stick with somebody who has been there for you,” Edwards appealed.