NEW YORK, USA — Jamaican-born Denise Grant has relinquished her position as a commissioner for the city of Lauderhill in Florida in order to run for mayor of a city sometimes affectionately called Jamaica Hill because of its large population of Jamaicans.

Grant, who is from Christiana, Manchester, told the Jamaica Observer that she decided to make the switch as she believed she had, as commissioner, achieved all her goals for Lauderhill, population 73,000.

“As mayor I will have more leverage, more capital, and more resources than as a commissioner — and these are necessary and important to improve the many conditions and move the city of Lauderhill forward,” she said.

Grant migrated from Jamaica at a young age and grew up in New Jersey, noting that her mother “made sure I did not forget the Jamaican culture, like the patois and the many and varied Jamaican dishes”.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in organisational leadership and international relations from Stockton University (formerly Trinity International University) in New Jersey, and certificates in cultural diversity, diplomacy, and communications and business management.

Grant has worked with McKinsey and Company, the global management consulting firm headquartered in the heart of the financial district in New York City, as well as at Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), a global religious television network. She has also served on a number of government boards.

She was first elected to serve as a Lauderhill commissioner in 2018, and is seeking to replace current Mayor Ken Thurston who was first elected to office in November of 2010.

The November 5, 2024 election is a non-partisan one, allowing voters to cast ballots for the candidate of their choice, with or without any party label, according to Grant.

She has listed lower taxes, providing cleaner and safer neighbourhoods, and the revitalisation and sustainability of small businesses among the many projects she intends to undertake if elected.

Grant said that infrastructure improvements and programmes to assist children and seniors will also be high on her list of priorities.

She has gained the considerable backing of Dr Allan Cunningham, a university lecturer and former Global Jamaica Diaspora Council representative for the southern United States.

Cunningham, in endorsing Grant, described her as one who has shown integrity and provided sound leadership to the city.

“I believe she will be a mayor for all because of her unwavering spirit of goodwill for her community,” said Cunningham.

Grant, whose son Joshua is the goalkeeper for the Jamaica national under-17 football team, if successful in her bid would become only the second — and first black — woman mayor of Lauderhill.

In her last election for commissioner in 2022 Grant blew away her opponent Miguelaille Pierre, polling 13,498 votes, or 84.72 per cent of the total cast, against Pierre’s 15.28 per cent.