NAIN, St Elizabeth — Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Deputy Leader JC Hutchinson is confident that the party will not only continue to control the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation following the upcoming local government election, but also increase its margin.

“Westmoreland, which everybody said could not be won, I said to many people in the labour party ‘don’t give up on Westmoreland’. Every seat in this country can be won by the JLP,” Hutchinson told labourites at the party’as Myersville Divisional conference in Nain, St Elizabeth, last Sunday.

Myersville, represented by the People’s National Party’s Layton Smith, is the only division controlled by that party in St Elizabeth South Eastern. It is traditionally a PNP stronghold.

Hutchinson, who is in charge of the JLP’s Area Council Four, said he was impressed by the turnout of supporters at the conference.

“We have been through 18 divisional meetings within the last three months and I can tell you this is the biggest one,” he said, adding that the party intends to widen its nine-six margin in the municipality as he is predicting a clean sweep in St Elizabeth.

“St Elizabeth has four constituencies. We have south west where [there] is one seat which we don’t have at the moment and I am sure that Minister [Floyd] Green will bring home the Black River Division,” he said.

Hutchinson, the sitting Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth North Western, said he is focused on taking the Ipswich Division from the PNP.

“I see it as the safest seat in my constituency now…. you watch and see. We are going to be taking the three,” he said in reference to Ipswich, New Market and Lacovia divisions.

“In north east, Mr [Delroy] Slowley, he has some serious challenges. We only have one councillor, Christopher Williams, but I feel confident with that man they call Valdino Pengs,” added Hutchinson.

Pengs is aspiring to represent JLP in the Siloah Division.

Pointing to former educator Delroy Hutchinson, who senior JLP members have endorsed as councillor/caretaker for the Myersville Division, Hutchinson said, “I have been following the work of this gentleman in the division. I have been hearing what has been taking place. He is a man who is on the ground [and] with his people… Mr Hutchinson is going to be the next councillor for the Myersville Division,” Hutchinson said.

Former Mayor of Black River Councillor Jeremy Palmer (JLP, Pedro Plains Division) told the meeting that St Elizabeth South Eastern has come a “far way”.

“When we can have a JLP candidate for Myersville coming out of Redbank that is an achievement. I can tell you that even in 1980 when we went to Redbank to hold a meeting, we could get in, but we had to fight to come out,” he said.

“…The whole of the Myersville Division has been under PNP bondage for umpteen years and if you look at Myersville it is the most underdeveloped part of South East St Elizabeth,” he added.

Palmer, who will not be seeking re-election at the next polls, said the JLP wants victory in the Braes River Division.

Councillor Donovan Pagon (PNP, Braes River Division) has similarly said he will not seek re-election.

Councillor Donald Simpson (JLP, Malvern Division) was brought to tears by the turnout of JLP supporters at the divisional conference.

“Myersville is not an easy division, let us not fool ourselves. We last won it 41 years ago in 1981 and they (PNP) have held onto it come high or come low since that time, but we have never seen this level of support, so we are sure that once we come out [and] do the work on election day… we will have Myersville,” he said.