Local Government Minister Mourns the Passing of Councillor Derron Wood
Hon. Desmond McKenzie, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development has expressed sadness at the passing of the Councillor for the Fairy Hill Division in Portland, Derron Wood. Councillor Wood died in hospital earlier today.
“It is a bitter blow for us in the Jamaica Labour Party family. Derron was a popular and highly respected Councillor, who served the people of Fairy Hill in that capacity for nearly 18 years. He emerged as a new Councillor in 2003, when we won the Local Government Elections as a party in Opposition. He made such an impact throughout Eastern Portland that by 2016, he was the party’s candidate for the General Election. Though he did not win, he put his energy into the campaign to support the current Member of Parliament. I know that she is hurting, the Portland Municipal Corporation family is in pain, and people all over Eastern Portland are grieving.
“It was just under six months ago that we lost Councillor Irwin Brown from the Fellowship Division in the same Constituency. I salute the work and the very visible legacy that Derron Wood has left in Eastern Portland and especially in the Fairy Hill Division. He has cemented himself into the modern history of local governance in this part of Portland, and he is already being greatly missed. No words can ease the pain of his passing, but I offer especially to his family, the assurance that he lived an exemplary life, and has made his parish a better place because he stepped forward to serve.”
