Basil Waite and Kern Spencer, the two central People's National Party (PNP) personalities in the North East St Elizabeth constituency, are not on speaking terms.
But Waite, after cautiously acknowledging "the relationship is not what it used to be", appeared willing to patiently wait out Spencer, who is still feeling hard done by in being forced to give up his candidacy in a constituency he had 'locked'.
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In constituency elections last week, Waite prevailed over four other candidates who vied to replace Kern, the former junior energy minister who is bedevilled by a continuing court case over the qustionable sale of energy-saving bulbs given by the Cuban government for use in Jamaican homes.
In a Sunday Observer interview, Senator Waite declared that he wanted to bury the hatchet and work with Spencer toward the betterment of the people on whose behalf they act.
Strenuous efforts to contact Spencer for comment were futile.
The two have as much in common as they have differences. Both are Munro College old boys and both are former heads of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Guild of Students and the PNP Youth Organisation (PNPYO).
But Spencer openly campaigned against the Senator during the run-off to replace him. Even after Waite was declared winner of the contest, Spencer raised questions about the cleanliness of the contest.
Waite's response to Spencer's claims about possible irregularities were dismissed by Waite.
"I was there and I didn't see anything. I didn't detect anything unusual. I don't think there is any merit to the allegations. Comrade Spencer said that he did not see things...he got phone calls," Waite said.
Source: Jamaica Observer
