ST?JOHN?has been described as being let down by two Prime ministers and crying out for representation.
Hudson Griffith, the 45-year-old contractor who will contest the forthcoming St John by-election on behalf of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), said that “at almost every turn”, he had been confronted by disgruntled constituents.
Griffith, who arrived on stage at 9:57 p.m. to the strains of Jimmy Cliff’s 1970s hit Better Days Are Coming and accompanied by about two dozen cheering supporters, said St John deserved much better and if given the chance he would turn things around.
“If you want to build a shrine for someone you can do that, but tomorrow the sun will rise and Hudson Griffith stands ready and eager to show St John once and for all what true representation is all about.
“I was in Sargeant Street, and I recognized that much has to be done in relation to street lighting, side roads, bus service, garbage collection – all of these are things that representation deals with. Is Mara Thompson going to deal with these things?
“I want Mara Thompson to speak to me directly. I want Freundel Stuart and Donville Inniss to stop speaking for Mara Thompson. I?want Mara to defend the work of the DLP administration in St John. She needs to defend it,” he said.
Griffith said the BLP had done much for the people of St John. He referred to the Gall Hill health centre and library, housing at Colleton and Gall Hill, the day nursery at Colleton, the Consett Bay fishing project, the Four Roads Fire Station and Post Office, and roads at Coach Hill, Massiah Street, Newcastle, Sealy Hall, Sargeant Street, and Mount Tabor Mixed and Hothersal primary schools.
Griffith, a former Lodge student, thinks he can break the ruling DLP’s stranglehold on St John, which spans more than 50 years.
“When people ask me if I am intimidated by the DLP, I tell them no because I have 8 344 people to represent and that is where my daunting task is. I?am ready for this fight.
“I am here as your humble servant. I am here at your call.
I am here to represent you the people of St John. I will be here for the next general election and the general election after that,” he said.
Griffith said he planned to construct a playing field at Sherbourne, an area he said had been neglected by former Member of Parliament David Thompson. He said the playing field would benefit residents in surrounding villages such as Henley and Cherry Grove.
