Dobney loyalists incensed as JLP picks Edwards to run for Portmore mayor

TENSIONS FLARED in the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) ranks in Portmore, St Catherine, yesterday as inviduals loyal to businessman Delroy Dobney pledged that they would not work for the party in the upcoming local government election following his abrupt replacement with Markland Edwards as the party’s prospective mayoral candidate for Portmore.

The local government election is expected to take place next month.

Dobney was replaced on Wednesday during a meeting of the party’s top leadership.

Yesterday, his supporters staged a protest at the constituency office in Newlands, rallying behind the businessman who narrowly lost to Fitz Jackson in the 2020 general election in St Catherine Southeast

A party insider revealed that the decision to replace Dobney was made during a meeting of the party’s officer corps, which Dobney himself attended. The rationale cited by the officer corps was Dobney’s purported lack of ground-level engagement, making him an ineffective challenger against incumbent Mayor Leon Thomas.

Constituency secretary Suzanna Shaw Ellis criticised the move, arguing that Edwards was unfamiliar to the municipality and that replacing Dobney with an unknown candidate was unjust.

“If Edwards is the choice, nobody will be working in the local government election,” Shaw Ellis declared.

Calvin Drummond condemned the bureaucratic shuffle, asserting that such last-minute changes undermine the electoral process and must be resolved before the election is called.

While St Catherine Southeast Member of Parliament Robert Miller threw his support behind Edwards, he refrained from elaborating on the reasons behind Dobney’s replacement.

“I will say, however, that I have always been a supporter of Markland,” Miller assured.

Edwards, buoyed by Miller’s endorsement, expressed confidence in his candidacy, vowing to collaborate with the people of Portmore to elevate the city’s status.

“I am ready to work with the people of Portmore to make it a city of choice,” Edwards affirmed, confident in his ability to secure the mayoral position for the JLP.