By Shirley Thomas

PASTOR Wendell Jeffrey of the Zinctop Homes Realty on Thursday launched his bid for a seat as an independent candidate for the Eighth Constituency, Stabroek/Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust, in the upcoming Local Government Elections. “My desire for being councillor is driven by the possibility that I can be involved in the decision-making on ways of improving the lives of the folk in my constituency and by extension, the city of Georgetown,” an optimistic Pastor Jeffrey told the media as he launched his campaign at the Zinctop Homes Realty office on Hadfield Street.
The Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust constituency, he said, is riddled with high levels of unemployment, vagrancy, addicts, homelessness and criminal activity. He underscored other social ills such as illiteracy, particularly among children and youth, and poor parental guidance.
It is obvious that central government needs all the help it can get, he said, adding that he is looking forward to partnering with the current administration through local government, in their fight to make things right and make the city of Georgetown clean and beautiful again.
“The voters in Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust will have in Pastor Wendell Jeffrey a vanguard of their wishes and concerns,” he promised, adding that with God’s help, he would unrelentingly push for plans and funding to improve both the physical infrastructure and the human capital within his constituency. It is my desire that by the time the next Local Government Election comes around, the Eighth District will be so holistically transformed that the current negativities will be a faint memory,” he emphasised.
Meanwhile, explaining his symbol (a white dove against the blue sky), he said: “I have chosen this as my symbol because I am equally interested in the peaceful and harmonious co-existence of the folk in my district.”
For more than six years, after returning from the United States where he spent several years, Jeffrey has been doing voluntary work among prison inmates, the ex-offenders and those who live in the streets. He has written several news articles and has had many meetings about how to better the lives of those less fortunate.

INT’L BEST PRACTICES
He comes to the table with broad knowledge of international ‘best practices’ in a variety of areas. He has served as a pastor, prison chaplain, criminologist, journalist, building contractor and motivational speaker.
Jeffrey has studied at the University of the Southern Caribbean, Trinidad. He also attended the Oakwood and Andrews Universities in Alabama and Michigan respectively. While living in the USA, he founded the Practical Christianity Ministries, an organisation which addresses the needs of ex-offenders and recovering addicts.

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE
In summing up, he says: “I have come to the table as an independent candidate with no political biases.I promise that in my deliberations as a councillor,I will call a spade a spade. I will not allow narrow, political, partisan agendas to dominate the programmes of the M&CC. I will speak truth to power.”
Along with Pastor Jeffrey who offered prayers at the ceremony, was Pastor Ronald Mc Garrel, Chairman of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO).