LOWE RIVER, Trelawny — Businessman Paul Patmore, former independent councillor for the Lorrimers Division in Trelawny, is dispelling the notion that independently elected councillors cannot be effective.

He pointed to accomplishments racked up during his tenure from 2012 to 2016 as proof that an elected representative does not have to be aligned to either of the main political parties.

One of the reasons he was effective, he said, was because his division received its fair share of funding from the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC).

“We have nine councillors, and every single month all of us get the same allocation. Most people believe that being an independent [means] you don’t get, but you get the same amount. Money allocated to all the divisions is the same,” Patmore pointed out during an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

In fact, he claimed that through the use of his monthly allocation he managed to successfully undertake more road rehabilitation projects than had ever been done in the history of the division.

“I showed persons that it can be done. The most roads that have ever been worked on in the division for more than 40 years, it was when I became a councillor that those roads were taken care of,” he said.

Also highlighted among his list of achievements is a water supply system he said was put in during his tenure. It currently serves residents who previously lacked the precious commodity — proving, he said, that independently elected councillors “can get the work done”.

Patmore explained that the idea for his legacy water project in Lowe River was hatched before his entry into representational politics but came to fruition with funding from his monthly allocation from the TMC, plus a further $2 million in support from Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).

“My main project was water. The Paul Patmore Water Project in Lowe River is one of the major things for the community right now. Presently, we have over 30 trucks that come and catch water and drive around to the different communities and parishes to sell water, so that’s one of the things that keeps Paul Patmore’s name alive in, not just Lorrimers Division but South Trelawny and Jamaica on a whole,” he told the Observer.

“I started that project before I was a councillor and during the time I spent, through the help of a RADA project we spent over $2 million to improve on the project. We got help through the Trelawny Municipal Corporation at the time and we used up some of our monthly allocation to make sure that the project works. We started off with personal money but after that we were able to get cash through the parish council and through RADA,” he added.

Patmore said about 100 households and a number of business establishments in Lowe River are now served by the system, in addition to truckers who transport loads of water from the source and deliver to areas in Trelawny south and outside the parish.

“Every house in that area [Lowe River] is connected with water now, free of cost. We have car washes, we have a funeral home, we have a cemetery, all the businesses — around six or seven shops — are connected to it. There are over 100 houses connected to that water, free of cost,” he said with a sense of accomplishment.

The Trelawny businessman explained that all community members now have free access to the water, which is gravity fed via pipes that are connected to a dam that was set up at a spring above the community.

“When we got the help through RADA we set up some 2000-gallon drums. Presently there are two at the Lowe River Square; they are always filled with water so persons can come and catch water as they like,” Patmore said.

He argued that community members are more comfortable approaching an independent councillor as opposed to an elected representative who is not aligned to the party they support — whether it is the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) or the People’s National Party (PNP).

“That’s the difference! When it is a PNP councillor or JLP councillor, only one set of persons feels comfortable to go to them. It was the first time in history that persons were comfortable to go to the councillor because at that time I was the councillor for the Lorrimers Division — not a councillor for the PNP or a councillor for JLP,” he said.

According to him, back in 2012, with his reputation as a community-oriented individual, it “wasn’t very difficult” for him to secure the seat in what is traditionally seen as a JLP stronghold.

“Because over the years I know it was only 35 per cent of the people who went out to vote so at that time I knew I had 65 per cent of persons to go and campaign to; that’s why in that election the JLP got the same amount of votes they always got in all the elections that they ran in. Only the PNP lost some votes but I received 65 per cent of the votes in that election. I received 65 per cent of the votes to the JLP’s 35 per cent and PNP’s five per cent,” he explained.

“I was always a part of the community because that was where I was born, went to school, do business so that was just my area. The division was always a part of me because that is where I am always taking part in church, community events, everything. I was close to the people, I was very close,” Patmore added.