Tensions rise as JLP councillor warns party over Samuda’s replacement
Published:Monday | February 3, 2025 | 4:42 PMJovan Johnson/Senior Staff Reporter
Senior Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Councillor Lee Clarke has endorsed Delano Seiveright to succeed St Andrew North Central Member of Parliament (MP) Karl Samuda, warning the party against imposing a candidate on the constituency.
“I am a supporter of Seiveright,” the 82-year-old seasoned politician told The Gleaner on Saturday. “He has been a grassroots politician. He’s been in politics. He has lost an election. ... I don’t know of the other person ... . I’ve never seen that other person work.”
The endorsement fuels tensions over Samuda’s long-held seat as the JLP prepares for a general election by September 3.
Seiveright’s primary challenger appears to be attorney Christian Tavares-Finson, whose father, Tom, is Senate president. Tom previously ran against Samuda in 1993 after Samuda defected to the People’s National Party.
Despite reportedly having senior JLP backing, Christian Tavares-Finson faces resistance from the constituency’s leadership.
Clarke, a veteran councillor in the constituency and former Kingston mayor, said “no” when quizzed on whether Tavares-Finson’s political credentials convinced him that he should be the party’s pick.
“And I don’t think the people would say that because you would have to see that person,” he added. “People should work with people on the ground. Because you can’t say, you just go inna politics because of a tradition or anything like that. You go to do something,” said Clarke, who has represented the Whitehall division in St Andrew for 43 years.
He cautioned against the recommendation of candidates who lack grassroots support.
“Sometimes that is not good for politics or the people on the ground. It’s for the benefit of those people who recommend them,” he said.
Clarke has asserted his influence, adding, “I know who I will support, and I carry a large [number] of voters in my division.”
The long-serving politician said he has only seen Tavares-Finson “once”, while Seiveright has been involved in the area.
The other division in the constituency, Norbrook, is represented by JLP’s Susan Senior. Contacted yesterday, Senior said she would get back to The Gleaner with position on the matter. Up to press time, however, she had not called back.
Questions submitted yesterday to Christian Tavares-Finson and Seiveright were also not answered up to press time.
Despite multiple meetings involving Samuda, constituency leaders, and the JLP hierarchy, no clear successor has emerged. However, area Labourites insist there is one – Seiveright, who they say is the party leadership’s first choice.
Seiveright, a senior adviser in the tourism ministry and former head of the JLP’s young professional group, was unanimously elected constituency vice-chairman in November 2024. While Samuda has not endorsed a candidate, he said he was in “absolute agreement” with the decision and that he is impressed by Seiveright’s intellect, party knowledge, and organisational skills.
Samuda has maintained that constituents will decide his successor. On Saturday, Clarke reiterated, “We are with our MP.”
The situation is further complicated by Samuda’s reconsideration of retirement, driven by the lack of a clear successor. JLP General Secretary Dr Horace Chang revealed last Friday that Samuda may stay on longer for a smoother transition, noting the importance of maintaining stability.
A top JLP insider told The Gleaner that the leadership prefers a candidate unfavoured by Samuda, but wants to avoid a run-off and a pre-election fight over a ‘safe’ seat.
“The strategy is to protect the leader as well and all of these safe seats and the transition presents an opportunity to have persons who will have the leader’s back whenever he needs defences down the road. Samuda is not someone you want to cross as well,” explained the official, who was not authorised to speak on the situation.
Chang said that the 82-year-old Samuda, Jamaica’s joint longest-serving parliamentarian, may extend his tenure for a smoother transition.
“He’s having second thoughts about how he exits. That’s basically his position. It’s a good seat. He has served over 40 years; you don’t want too much contention when he’s going. You don’t want any reduction in the seat. We’ll handle it the best way we can. And that’s [the way we] are looking at it now. Maybe the interest of the organisation is to let him stay for a while,” he told The Gleaner.