MONTEGO BAY, St James — This month’s meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation descended into a shouting match on Thursday over the removal of signs and banners, from the city’s streets, promoting People’s National Party (PNP) candidates for the next general election.

The matter started smouldering on Monday when workmen began taking down the signs along roads in the municipality after Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon (Jamaica Labour Party, Montego Bay South Division) last week gave an end-of-week deadline for unsanctioned signs to be removed and their owners billed.

He also said that the removals would be done irrespective of political affiliation. But his pronouncement angered PNP candidates and officials.

Among the signs removed on Monday were some promoting the PNP’s Dr Andre Haughton, who is seeking to wrest the St James West Central constituency from Marlene Malahoo-Forte of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP); and Opposition Senator Janice Allen, who will battle the JLP’s Heroy Clarke in St James Central.

On Thursday, as the municipal corporation meeting took the agenda item ‘New Business’, just before adjournment, Councillor Kerry Thomas (People’s National Party, Mount Salem Division) rose to address the burning issue, directing his comments to the mayor, who chairs the council.

“I noticed you mentioned in your presentation regarding political signs, and Mr Chairman, I just want to say to you, you are wrong, you are wrong in the approach you’re taking,” Thomas said.

However, before he could proceed further, he was interrupted by Councillor Charles Sinclair (JLP, Montego Bay North East Division), who rose on a point of order.

“The point of order is that the issue is one that a full council meeting determined yesterday (Wednesday) and what you [Mayor Vernon] did today was merely to make your announcement on it,” Sinclair said.

“If Councillor Thomas would make himself au fait, then he would realise that once a council decision is made, then there is no possibility of any amendment to it,” he declared.

Sinclair said that the PNP caucus was fully represented at the meeting on Wednesday and there were no objections raised then.

“The matter should not be entertained today, and with that, unless he has something else to say, I am going to move for an adjournment,” Sinclair said.

However, his comments enraged the PNP councillors, who began accusing their political opponents of being bullies, given that Councillor Thomas had not finished his point.

“No, no, no, what kind of bully business is this?” minority leader Councillor Michael Troupe (PNP, Granville Division) shouted.

Thomas followed that with, “What kind of kangaroo business this?”

Both sides traded barbs for a while before the mayor regained control of the meeting, following which he sought to address the matter Thomas had raised, saying, “We have ratified the minutes of the meeting earlier in the discussion and in this meeting you all said ‘Aye’. So, the point of order is, you can’t raise it again.”

That, though, sparked another verbal exchange between both sides, and subsequently the adjournment was accepted, ending the meeting.

However, the way matter was handled did not sit well with the PNP councillors and Troupe repeated his accusation in a subsequent interview with the Jamaica Observer.

“What they are trying to do is to bully us, and the mayor knows he is wrong, and they are bullying us. You see what transpired a while ago is that the mayor adjourned the meeting when Councillor Kerry Thomas was on his feet, that’s bullyism, and I don’t support it, and we are going to take it further,” he vowed.

Thomas was equally strident when the Observer spoke with him.

“As a single corporation to be just taking down the banners or the billboards of the People’s National Party candidates in a JLP council is deliberate and also political as we can see,” he said.

He also hit out at the mayor’s remarks about the ratification of minutes, declaring there was none to ratify.

“Ratification is foolishness, you can’t have a meeting yesterday and you want to vote on a minutes that have not been circulated as yet, that doesn’t make any sense to me; so the mayor needs to go back to the drawing board,” Thomas said.

“You can’t ratify a minutes that no member of the council had gotten to review,” he added.

Mayor Vernon, however, held firm to his position.

“For us, campaign period, we are seeing it different from the impending elections. There is the law, there are attorneys, and there is a court,” he declared.

“So, if the minority in our council believes that we are being unlawful in our actions, there is a place they can take it up, and we will await that action,” he said.

Jamaica Labour Party councillors in the St James Municipal Corporation preparing to depart after the monthly council meeting was adjourned on Thursday.

Councillor Charles Sinclair challenges Councillor Kerry Thomas on a point of order during Thursday’s meeting of the St James Municipal Corporation.