Crawford slams Parchment Brown as partisan
RHODA CRAWFORD, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) standard-bearer who is seeking to unseat the incumbent for Manchester Central, Peter Bunting, in the upcoming general election, has signalled that her contract ends this month and she will shortly be leaving her publicsector job.
The Gleaner has seen a copy of a letter written by Political Ombudsman Donna Parchment Brown to Crawford alleging, based on a report from the general secretary of the People’s National Party
(PNP) Julian Robinson, that Crawford has been involved in “partisan political activities”.
The letter dated June 24 said that the political ombudsman has attached a copy to the prime minister, indicating that she has commenced an investigation into the matter.
She charged that the PNP had fielded candidates in the past who were actively involved in government service and never resigned during that period.
The JLP political aspirant cited a particular PNP councillor in Manchester Central who was reportedly employed to the National Solid Waste Management Authority while campaigning in the run-up to the last local government elections and never resigned until nomination day.
Crawford took the political ombudsman to task, saying, “I have followed her utterances, and I think that she has been very partisan in all her criticisms. We have seen many issues and blunders of the PNP go unnoticed.”
“The political ombudsman herself is found wanting as it concerns objectivity, so I would not respond to her,” said Crawford.