FROM a young age Patrick Peterkin appeared destined for a life in politics, and there was no doubt that he would don the orange of the People’s National Party (PNP) if he ever made that move.

Now, the 45-year-old has stepped up as the PNP’s standard-bearer in St Andrew East Rural, a constituency in which he is expected to face-off with two-term Member of Parliament, the Jamaica Labour Party’s Juliet Holness, wife of Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness and current Speaker of the House of Representatives.

St Andrew East Rural is one of the seats the JLP knows it will have to hold on to if it wants to form the next Government and Peterkin, an attorney, knows he is in for a fight.

But the Kingston College (KC) old boy has never been one to shy away from a battle, and in a sit-down with the Jamaica Observer last week the father of four boys pointed out that nothing has come easy to him in life.

Born in the tough inner-city community of Waterhouse in St Andrew, Peterkin had his early school years at Balmagie Primary before moving to KC and then to The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Mona and Cave Hill campuses.

From a close-knit family, Peterkin still remembers the joy on his father’s face when the results of the Common Entrance Examination were published and it was revealed that he had “passed” for the revered KC.

There he met lifelong friends, including his now political Comrade Damion Crawford who once held the St Andrew East Rural seat.

“Me and Damion go through school together, and him…me and some other youth, we used to call ourselves Success Crew when we were at KC And we used to push ourselves as well because, at the end of the day, we reached an age at that point where we knew that we wanted to make something of our lives and it was going to be education, because…we had no rich family to look back to or any wealth that we would inherit, or anything like that,” said Peterkin.

He noted that his university journey was funded partly by a student loan but, even more important, was his family unit that was always ready to provide the support for the boy from Waterhouse as he pursued academic success.

“So when I was going to university I can remember all of my aunts and uncles them chipping [in], especially when I went to Cave Hill. We have one aunt [Colleen] that…every year she would call around and make sure that ‘Aunt this’ or ‘cousin that’, everybody, put something towards my education, even if it was US$100.

“So…my auntie was maybe one of the main persons who assisted me in terms of my university years, especially my Cave Hill years. So, you know, we have to give thanks in terms of that effort that she put out for me because, at that time, she was even a pensioner and she go in her little savings and ensure that she…put something towards my education,” said Peterkin as he pointed out that his late grandmother also played a big role in helping when money ran low while he was at university.

At The UWI, Peterkin completed a degree in sociology and political science and started reading for a Master in Sociology and Development before making the switch to law.

Having been called to the Bar, Peterkin embarked on a career in criminal law but finally gave in to increasingly louder calls for him to enter representational politics.

“I have always been in politics. I was in the ranks of the PNP YO [Youth Organisation] and I was always a PNP… I don’t remember myself being anything else because my community [where I grew up] is predominantly a PNP community, and that’s the party I have supported right through,” said Peterkin, even as he scoffed at the suggestion that he decided to represent the PNP because of blind loyalty.

“No, it’s not blind and always seeing orange… I would consider myself somebody who benefited from the policies of the PNP and I would want to think somebody like myself, going into the politics, I would push those policies [so] that persons behind me can benefit from it as well. So, I see myself as being able to go into the politics to help to build the party and also help to build the country,” added Peterkin.

He told the Sunday Observer that he conducted a careful analysis of the positions of both parties before deciding to stick with the PNP.

“I would say I [was] born PNP but, even in terms of socialisation and through reading and all that, I developed myself as well where I developed into a PNP because I believe that is the party that is always best in terms of putting Jamaica on a certain path in terms of development.

“Even though I would say I born PNP, I don’t consider myself a tribalist as I have a lot of friends who are supporters of the [Jamaica] Labour Party…So I think in terms of me at this stage, being a PNP is something that is an informed decision that I made,” added Peterkin who was quick to declare his admiration for former PNP president and Prime Minister PJ Patterson.

“I would have to admire a man like PJ because when I see PJ, I basically see myself as a black man who — although PJ come from the rural and make [it] in terms of a lawyer and thing — I maybe mirror myself as a man who’s coming more from the urban but with the same type of spirit, so PJ would be…the person that I would look at,” said Peterkin.

With Holness winning the seat by more than 2,000 votes in 2020, after taking it home by some 700 votes in 2016, many political watchers see the JLP as the clear favourite to again win the St Andrew East Rural seat this time around, but for Peterkin this does not reflect the reality on the ground.

According to the aspirant, he did his assessments before making the decision to take on the role as the PNP’s standard-bearer in the constituency, as the fruits are ripening and his team is working hard to ensure the PNP wins the seat.

“And as a result of that, I tried to just have a blinker type of approach and stay in [St Andrew] East Rural because the politics is local. So when I come out of East Rural people say, ‘You can’t win,’ but when I’m in East Rural and talking to the people, is a whole different thing.

“The people in East Rural, basically they are ready for a change, and I firmly believe that we have sufficiently built back the PNP machinery in east rural to win it back in this coming election,” declared Peterkin.