Courted by both parties, Riverside community man says yes to JLP
COLVILLE ‘CARLTON’ ALLEN – JLP, RIVERSIDE DIVISION, HANOVER WESTERN
BUSINESSMAN COLVILLE ‘Carlton’ Allen said he was courted by both the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP) before he finally accepted the offer to run on the ticket of the ruling party in Hanover’s Riverside division.
A community man, he has several businesses in the division and is well known in the community.
“I am a businessman. Even before I made a decision on which party I would say yes to, I was involved in community service. The PNP came first to me and asked if I would be interested in running for them and I said no. The JLP came after and I also said no. After the 2016 elections, they came back again and after consultation with my wife, I said yes to the JLP,” Allen told The Sunday Gleaner recently.
Allen will face off with the incumbent, the PNP’s Daren Edwin Barnes, on February 26.
In the last local government elections, the PNP’s Barnes and the JLP’s Donald Campbell were challenged by four independent candidates – Alva Fraser, Albert Lee, Donna Malahoo-Bowen, and Paul Trench.
No candidate received even 1,000 votes from the 5,366 persons eligible to cast ballots.
Barnes emerged victorious for the PNP, securing 736 (or 42.9 per cent) of the votes, followed by the JLP’s Campbell with 614 votes (or 35.8 per cent). Lee (179), Trench (112), Malahoo-Bowen (53) and Fraser (3) trailed far behind. There were 19 rejected ballots.
Allen said if elected, he would focus on several areas of need in the division.
Chief among them? “Improvements and upgrades to the primary water supply. If the facilities in the communities with primary water supplies are upgraded then other communities can benefit,” he said.
He reckons that garbage collection would significantly improve if there were better road conditions, too.
“The present MP [Member of Parliament Tamika Davis (JLP)] is doing some roads, but some of the roads are the parish council roads, which we would have to finish. The bad roads hamper the garbage collection. Better roads could make other things so much easier,” Allen told The Sunday Gleaner.
STRONG FARMING COMMUNITY
Allen noted that there was a lot of rural pride in communities such as Riverside as residents take personal responsibility in keeping their spaces clean.
A traditional farming community, residents sell their produce within and outside of the division. Some produce is also sold outside the parish, while various crops also invite purchasers from outside. A few hotels also source various foods from these farmers.
“I believe in community programmes. I believe in the youth clubs and efforts to get people organised to discuss solutions to the issues they face. I have formed one club as part of that effort, but I have worked with community organisations. I believe in that,” Allen added.
He thought long and hard about challenges to winning the divisions, but could not find any.
“The campaign is going well and the reception is very good. I live in the division, I operate businesses here, I am a community man. People know me as that kind of person long before I entered into politics. I held a fundraiser for a community resident who is a cancer patient, and it was the same persons from the area who supported it. It raised more than $120,000,” Allen told The Sunday Gleaner.
He hopes that his mobilising and philanthropic efforts will take him across the line in another two weeks.