MONTEGO BAY, St James — When she is sworn in later this week as councillor for the Montego Bay North Division in St James North Western, Donyja Allen-Thompson will be the only woman elected to serve in the St James Municipal Corporation for the next four years. The other 16 divisions will be represented by men, but the gender disparity doesn’t bother her.

“I’m not by any means daunted being the only female among the thorns because I know that on my side of the fence that they will be working closely with me,” Allen-Thompson told the Jamaica Observer.

“It’s a wonderful feeling representing women in politics. Going forward, I know I have to put my best foot forward — and for me, that’s proper representation,” she continued.

Allen-Thompson was elected on a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) ticket. She bested the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Ronaldo Jackson and, in the process, has taken over the division from former Mayor Leeroy Williams. He did not seek re-election.

“It was an overwhelming feeling, and what struck me was the love the people had. The people called for me. They said, ‘Mr Williams is going out and you are the one that we want to represent us,’ “ Allen-Thompson said.

She has an ambitious list of projects and plans for the division, and she intends to make sure women are involved.

“I plan to implement programmes within my division, especially for single mothers. Single mothers, from time to time, bear the brunt of raising children without a father and, in my division, I see some of that,” she pointed out.

“I want to ensure that my single mothers feel comfortable, feel that they are loved, feel that there is someone they can talk to in myself as a councillor and also point them to agencies where they can get help in bringing up their child or their children as a wholesome being in the society,” she added.

Like her predecessor, Allen-Thompson has a background in education. She is coordinator for the infant department at Glendevon Primary and Infant School; she also plans to bolster educational institutions within her division. In addition to the school at Glendevon, there is also Albion Basic School.

“As an educator we definitely have to put education first because that is the foundation. If we do not make our children quality students [then] we cannot have quality members of society, and therefore education has to be one of my top priorities as well,” she stated.

Her swearing-in as councillor will come just one day before International Women’s Day. The symbolism is not lost on her. She hopes other women will follow her into representational politics.

“I would encourage females to do so because there are so many issues affecting women that need to be put on the table so that we can form policies to tackle the issues that women go through on a daily basis,” she said.