Sharon Hay-Webster
Encyclopedia
Sharon Hay-Webster is a Jamaica
n politician, a Member of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Jamaica
since 1997, formerly with the People's National Party
. She came to international attention after the 2004 Haitian rebellion, when she escorted Jean-Bertrand Aristide
from his temporary exile in the Central African Republic
to Jamaica at the invitation of then-Prime Minister of Jamaica
P. J. Patterson
.
Hay-Webster's third term in parliament was marred by a controversy over her citizenship in the United States
, leading her to announce in 2009 that she would renounce
her U.S. citizenship. However, in 2011 it came to light through the WikiLeaks
United States diplomatic cables leak
that she had withdrawn her application for renunciation, meaning she remained a U.S. citizen. As the ongoing controversy heated up, Hay-Webster resigned from the PNP, and her former party called for her to step down from her parliamentary seat as well. Her resignation from the PNP made her only the third independent politician in 19 years to sit in parliament.
under the PNP banner, easily beating Jamaica Labour Party
candidate Tom Tavares Finson to win the race in the South Central St. Catherine constituency, succeeding PNP incumbent Heather Robinson. The seat itself was a long-time PNP stronghold, having previously been held by Ripton McPherson and then Derrick Heaven. She was returned to her seat in the 2002 elections
, part of a widespread PNP victory which saw them retain their parliamentary majority for a record fourth straight term.
on behalf of Jamaican Prime Minister
P. J. Patterson
and the Caribbean Community
, to meet with Jean-Bertrand Aristide
after he was overthrown in the 2004 Haitian rebellion and to discuss his desire to return to Haiti
. She was part of a larger delegation which also included African American
dignitaries, namely TransAfrica Forum
founder Randall Robinson
and U.S. congresswoman Maxine Waters
. She described the visit as tense: at the time, the CAR was marking one year since the coup by François Bozizé
, and the CAR government put out a heavy military presence in anticipation of trouble. She then escorted Aristide to Jamaica, in what she later described as a "humanitarian action" and not a political one. Aristide would remain in Jamaica until the end of May, when he left for South Africa.
. Opposition parliamentarian Ernie Smith spoke out in favour of the idea, and further suggested that schoolgirls undergo regular virginity test
s in order to clamp down on teenage pregnancy
. Local businessman Sameer Younis also made public statements in support of her idea. In contrast, Vernon Daley, a columnist for the Jamaica Gleaner, described Hay-Webster as making a fool of herself by proposing outdated ideas based on shallow thinking. Another Gleaner column derided Hay-Webster's idea as "medieval". Spokespersons for local human rights organisation Jamaicans for Justice and women's rights groups Women's Inc. and Women's Media Watch also described the proposals as crazy, invasive, and gender-biased.
Hay-Webster's second term in office was also punctuated by controversies over Spanish Town
gang violence between Oliver "Bubba" Smith's One Order gang and Donovan "Bulbie" Bennett's Clansman gang, the former supporters of the JLP and the latter of Hay-Webster's own PNP. In February 2004, fighting broke out between the two rival gangs, leaving 19 dead. The trigger for the violence was reported to be a conflict over control of the lucrative protection racket
surrounding the town's bus terminal. In the aftermath, Hay-Webster made public statements distancing herself from the violence and claiming she had no ties to the gang leaders, earning her criticism even from fellow PNP member and former South Central St. Catherine MP Heather Robinson. After the killing of Bennett in November 2005, Clansman members publicly proclaimed that they were withdrawing their support for the PNP. Hay-Webster admitted that she previously had dealings with Bennett's followers, and expressed confidence that she could win back their support, but denied that she had any dealings with Bennett himself. However, in later years she crossed party lines to work with fellow woman politician and neighbouring South East St. Catherine MP Olivia Grange
, successfully reducing gang violence.
, Hay-Webster faced off against Devon McDaniel, a JLP member who had formerly represented the South Trelawny constituency but withdrew from politics in 2005, only to announce in February 2007 that he would stand against Hay-Webster for the St. Catherine seat instead. Media reports suggested that the PNP could face a strong challenge from the JLP in the race for the South East and South Central seats in St. Catherine. Hay-Webster and her opponents signed a Political Code of Conduct pledging to keep the elections violence-free. On Nomination Day (8 August), Webster and McDaniel both turned out with marches of hundreds supporters to the nomination centre at Spanish Village Plaza in Spanish Town
; the police were called out, but the rival groups mingled without violence. Hay-Webster herself was returned to her seat, but the PNP as a whole lost their parliamentary majority.
, "[n]o person shall be qualified to be appointed as a Senator or elected as a member of the House of Representatives who is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign Power or State" (though Article 39 exempts Commonwealth citizen
s from this limitation). At the time, media reports about the citizenship controversies noted that Hay-Webster had been a U.S. citizen and later naturalised as a Jamaican, making her the only naturalised MP, but no indication was given that she remained a U.S. citizen. In late April 2008, Hay-Webster's retention of U.S. citizenship came to light. Jamaican PM Bruce Golding
and other JLP members, responding to continuing criticism over the U.S. citizenship of JLP member Daryl Vaz
(whose candidacy had been struck down by the Supreme Court of Jamaica) pointed out in parliament that a member of the PNP was in a similar citizenship situation as Vaz. The MP in question was not named in parliamentary debate, but JLP members gave media interviews in the following week, leading to the revelation that Golding was referring to Hay-Webster. The Supreme Court, in ruling against Vaz, stated that acquiring, renewing, and travelling on a United States passport
were all acts of allegiance to a foreign power; Hay-Webster stated that her case was not at all analogous to Vaz', because her US passport had long expired and she had never renewed it; she further emphasised that she had no economic or other ties to the United States, and had never even filed a tax return
there. Nevertheless, the PNP consulted with its lawyers over the issue, and unconfirmed reports said she had been urged to resign. However, for another year, no one would challenge her eligibility to her seat.
In 2009, the two parties came to a compromise over the citizenship issue: JLP MPs Gregory Mair
, Michael Stern, and Shahine Robinson renounce their foreign citizenships, in exchange for a PNP pledge not to contest their seats. However, after Mair was removed from Parliament by court order, the PNP put forth a candidate Granville Valentine in his constituency for the resulting by-election, leading to the breakdown of the agreement. PM Golding then filed constitutional motions against PNP members Ian Hayles and Hay-Webster in May 2009. In August 2009, Hay-Webster seemed to be ready to surrender on the issue, making a public statement that she would renounce her US citizenship. However, even after that announcement, the JLP was still said to be getting ready to serve court papers against her, as part of their larger strategy leading up to the by-elections triggered by Stern's resignation. Hay-Webster came under heavy pressure from influential constituents to relinquish her seat, and in December 2009 she was said to be in discussions with fellow PNP member and onetime MP Colin Campbell about the possibility for him to run for her seat.
The citizenship issue continued to drag out over the following year. In early June 2010, the JLP made a motion in parliament to unseat Hay-Webster, soon after JLP Shahine Robinson had been removed from her own seat follwoing a challenge by PNP member Manley Bowen, leaving the JLP with just a 31-28 majority in parliament. Later that month, she announced that she would not be seeking a fourth term in office, though she denied that the citizenship issue had anything to do with her decision. A Jamaica Gleaner editorial in September 2010 decried her behaviour as "shameless". In December 2010, the JLP made an application to the Supreme Court of Jamaica challenging Hay-Webster's eligibility to sit in parliament due to the fact of her having been a U.S. citizen at the time of the 2007 elections. Hay-Webster declined to comment on the issue. It is possible that the court may retroactively disqualifies her candidacy all the way back to her original election in 1997, meaning that she might lose her entitlement to a parliamentary pension, granted to members of parliament who serve for more than two terms. In response to the challenge, the PNP stated that it would uphold the constitution, but also expressed concern that the challenge had been filed so late in Hay-Webster's term, possibly contravening the Election Petitions Act. The court papers were finally served on 13 January 2011, with the hearing date set for 17 February. The issue seemed to be going nowhere; in March 2011, Golding admitted he had been dragging out the resolution of the citizenship issue in order to avoid undermining his party's majority in parliament.
However, new developments would be seen in the controversy over Hay-Webster's citizenship issues due to the United States diplomatic cables leak
. On 22 May 2011, WikiLeaks
released a cable dated 17 August 2009 regarding the furor over Jamaican MPs' nationality issues. The contents of the cable were reported the same day in the Jamaica Gleaner. According to one statement therein, Hay-Webster had visited the US embassy in Kingston to renounce her United States citizenship on 31 July 2009, but returned four days later to withdraw the renunciation. Hay-Webster gave no immediate response to the matter, stating only that her lawyer had advised her to withhold comment. Hay-Webster later stated that she had changed her mind on her renunciation after advice from local and foreign lawyers, stating that her circumstances differed from the facts of previous Supreme Court cases on dual citizen MPs. Jamaica Observer columnist Clare Forrester spoke out in support of Hay-Webster; however, broader public opinion was turning against her.
; the PNP also removed from the parliament's crime committee with no advance notice. In 2010, she gave an interview to the Jamaica Gleaner in which she expressed regret that she had been unable to emulate Michael Manley
's social impact of the 1970s which had inspired her to enter politics in the first place.
In June 2011, after Hay-Webster's retention of U.S. citizenship was revealed, controversy inside the PNP grew, and on 28 June, she resigned from the PNP, bitterly complaining of "abuse and lack of support" from the party. She also criticised the party for "focus[ing] on power rather than principle", echoing complaints over the preceding decade about Portia Simpson Miller's leadership made by fellow party members such as Region Three functionary Paul Burke and PNP Youth Organisation chairman Damion Crawford. In response to Hay-Webster, PNP general secretary Peter Bunting said that Hay-Webster had a credibility problem, and called on her to follow up on her withdrawal from the party by stepping down from parliament rather than remaining in her seat as an independent MP. Hay-Webster dropped hints that she might "cross the aisle" and join the JLP instead; JLP general secretary Aundre Franklin was quoted as saying in response that "the doors of the party are open ... but the principles of the JLP will not be held hostage to any negotiations".
in Glen Ridge, New Jersey
in the United States. She thus has birthright citizenship there, though she did not publicly admit this until late in her career. Earlier media reports claimed she was born in Kingston, Jamaica
. Her grandfather Lucien Hay and father Lloyd Hay were both involved in PNP politics, the former as an assistant to Norman Manley
and the latter as the PNP's unsuccessful candidate in the North East St Catherine constituency in the 1976 general election
. Her mother was Haitian. Hay-Webster's family moved to Jamaica just a few months after her birth and raised her there. She graduated from St Hugh's Preparatory School
and the University of the West Indies
. She had long been interested in politics; and in later interviews claimed that the most exciting thing about turning 18 was that she gained the right to vote. She was especially attracted by the socialist ideals of PM Michael Manley
. She applied for Jamaican citizenship in 1987, and took the Oath of Allegiance the following year. She married after entering politics. She and her husband would go on to have two children, but later divorced. Her uncle Calvin Fitz-Henley was murdered in downtown Kingston in May 2008.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n politician, a Member of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Jamaica
Parliament of Jamaica
The Parliament of Jamaica is the legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. It is a bicameral body, composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives....
since 1997, formerly with the People's National Party
People's National Party
The People's National Party is a social democratic and social liberal Jamaican political party, founded by Norman Manley in 1938. It is the oldest political party in the Anglophone Caribbean and one of the main two political parties in Jamaica. Out of the two major parties, it is considered more...
. She came to international attention after the 2004 Haitian rebellion, when she escorted Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is a Haitian former Catholic priest and politician who served as Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies...
from his temporary exile in the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
to Jamaica at the invitation of then-Prime Minister of Jamaica
Prime Minister of Jamaica
The Prime Minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Andrew Holness was elected as the new leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party and succeeded Bruce Golding to become Jamaica's ninth Prime Minister on 23 October 2011...
P. J. Patterson
P. J. Patterson
Percival Noel James Patterson, ON, QC, PC, O.E., was the sixth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1992 to 2006. Until February 2006 he was the leader of the Jamaican People's National Party . The new PNP leader, Portia Simpson-Miller, took over as Prime Minister on 30 March 2006...
.
Hay-Webster's third term in parliament was marred by a controversy over her citizenship in the United States
Citizenship in the United States
Citizenship in the United States is a status given to individuals that entails specific rights, duties, privileges, and benefits between the United States and the individual...
, leading her to announce in 2009 that she would renounce
Renunciation of citizenship
Renunciation is a voluntary act of relinquishing one's citizenship . It is the opposite of naturalization whereby a person voluntarily acquires a citizenship, and related to denaturalization where the loss of citizenship is not voluntary, but forced by a state.-Historic practices:The old common law...
her U.S. citizenship. However, in 2011 it came to light through the WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
United States diplomatic cables leak
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
that she had withdrawn her application for renunciation, meaning she remained a U.S. citizen. As the ongoing controversy heated up, Hay-Webster resigned from the PNP, and her former party called for her to step down from her parliamentary seat as well. Her resignation from the PNP made her only the third independent politician in 19 years to sit in parliament.
Entry into politics
Prior to entering politics. Hay-Webster was a lecturer at the University of Technology, Jamaica. She had also worked as an employee of the Social Development Commission, then part of the Ministry of Youth and Community Development. The man who would become her husband initially opposed her ambition to become a politician. She first ran for election in 1997Jamaican general election, 1997
General elections were held in Jamaica on 18 December 1997. The ruling People's National Party of Prime Minister P. J. Patterson won 50 of the 60 seats defeating the main opposition Jamaica Labour Party.-Background:...
under the PNP banner, easily beating Jamaica Labour Party
Jamaica Labour Party
The Jamaica Labour Party is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party. Despite its name, the JLP is a centre-right, conservative party.-Background:...
candidate Tom Tavares Finson to win the race in the South Central St. Catherine constituency, succeeding PNP incumbent Heather Robinson. The seat itself was a long-time PNP stronghold, having previously been held by Ripton McPherson and then Derrick Heaven. She was returned to her seat in the 2002 elections
Jamaican general election, 2002
General elections were held in Jamaica on 16 October 2002. The result was a victory for the People's National Party, which won 34 of the 60 seats, whilst voter turnout was 59.1%. PNP leader P. J. Patterson retained his position as Prime Minister, becoming the first political leader to win three...
, part of a widespread PNP victory which saw them retain their parliamentary majority for a record fourth straight term.
Bringing Aristide to Jamaica
The major highlight of Hay-Webster's second term was her March 2004 trip to the Central African RepublicCentral African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
on behalf of Jamaican Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Jamaica
The Prime Minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Andrew Holness was elected as the new leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party and succeeded Bruce Golding to become Jamaica's ninth Prime Minister on 23 October 2011...
P. J. Patterson
P. J. Patterson
Percival Noel James Patterson, ON, QC, PC, O.E., was the sixth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1992 to 2006. Until February 2006 he was the leader of the Jamaican People's National Party . The new PNP leader, Portia Simpson-Miller, took over as Prime Minister on 30 March 2006...
and the Caribbean Community
Caribbean Community
The Caribbean Community is an organisation of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy...
, to meet with Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is a Haitian former Catholic priest and politician who served as Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies...
after he was overthrown in the 2004 Haitian rebellion and to discuss his desire to return to Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
. She was part of a larger delegation which also included African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
dignitaries, namely TransAfrica Forum
TransAfrica Forum
TransAfrica Forum is an advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. that seeks to influence the foreign policy of the United States concerning African countries and the African diaspora.-See also:* Diaspora politics in the United States...
founder Randall Robinson
Randall Robinson
Randall Robinson is an African-American lawyer, author and activist, noted as the founder of TransAfrica. He is known particularly for his impassioned opposition to South African apartheid, and for his advocacy on behalf of Haitian immigrants and Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.-Early...
and U.S. congresswoman Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 29th district, serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party....
. She described the visit as tense: at the time, the CAR was marking one year since the coup by François Bozizé
François Bozizé
François Bozizé Yangouvonda is the President of the Central African Republic. He came to power in March 2003 after leading a rebellion against President Ange-Félix Patassé and ushered in a transitional period of government...
, and the CAR government put out a heavy military presence in anticipation of trouble. She then escorted Aristide to Jamaica, in what she later described as a "humanitarian action" and not a political one. Aristide would remain in Jamaica until the end of May, when he left for South Africa.
Controversies
In July 2003, during a parliamentary debate on childcare, Hay-Webster suggested that young women with three or more children be subject to compulsory sterilisationCompulsory sterilization
Compulsory sterilization also known as forced sterilization programs are government policies which attempt to force people to undergo surgical sterilization...
. Opposition parliamentarian Ernie Smith spoke out in favour of the idea, and further suggested that schoolgirls undergo regular virginity test
Virginity test
A virginity test is the practice and process of determining whether a female is a virgin, ie., whether she has engaged in sexual intercourse. The test involves an inspection of a female's hymen, on the assumption that her hymen can only be torn as a result of sexual intercourse.Virginity testing is...
s in order to clamp down on teenage pregnancy
Teenage pregnancy
Teenage pregnancy is a pregnancy of a female under the age of 20 when the pregnancy ends. It generally refers to a female who is unmarried and usually refers to an unplanned pregnancy...
. Local businessman Sameer Younis also made public statements in support of her idea. In contrast, Vernon Daley, a columnist for the Jamaica Gleaner, described Hay-Webster as making a fool of herself by proposing outdated ideas based on shallow thinking. Another Gleaner column derided Hay-Webster's idea as "medieval". Spokespersons for local human rights organisation Jamaicans for Justice and women's rights groups Women's Inc. and Women's Media Watch also described the proposals as crazy, invasive, and gender-biased.
Hay-Webster's second term in office was also punctuated by controversies over Spanish Town
Spanish Town
Spanish Town is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica from the 16th to the 19th century...
gang violence between Oliver "Bubba" Smith's One Order gang and Donovan "Bulbie" Bennett's Clansman gang, the former supporters of the JLP and the latter of Hay-Webster's own PNP. In February 2004, fighting broke out between the two rival gangs, leaving 19 dead. The trigger for the violence was reported to be a conflict over control of the lucrative protection racket
Protection racket
A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a criminal group or individual coerces a victim to pay money, supposedly for protection services against violence or property damage. Racketeers coerce reticent potential victims into buying "protection" by demonstrating what will happen if they...
surrounding the town's bus terminal. In the aftermath, Hay-Webster made public statements distancing herself from the violence and claiming she had no ties to the gang leaders, earning her criticism even from fellow PNP member and former South Central St. Catherine MP Heather Robinson. After the killing of Bennett in November 2005, Clansman members publicly proclaimed that they were withdrawing their support for the PNP. Hay-Webster admitted that she previously had dealings with Bennett's followers, and expressed confidence that she could win back their support, but denied that she had any dealings with Bennett himself. However, in later years she crossed party lines to work with fellow woman politician and neighbouring South East St. Catherine MP Olivia Grange
Olivia Grange
Olivia Grange is a Jamaican politician. She has been the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in Jamaica since 2007.-External links:*...
, successfully reducing gang violence.
Re-election campaign
In her re-election campaign for the 2007 electionsJamaican general election, 2007
General elections in Jamaica were held on September 3, 2007. They had originally been scheduled for August 27, 2007 but were delayed due to Hurricane Dean. The preliminary results indicated a slim victory for the opposition Jamaican Labour Party led by Bruce Golding, which grew by two seats from...
, Hay-Webster faced off against Devon McDaniel, a JLP member who had formerly represented the South Trelawny constituency but withdrew from politics in 2005, only to announce in February 2007 that he would stand against Hay-Webster for the St. Catherine seat instead. Media reports suggested that the PNP could face a strong challenge from the JLP in the race for the South East and South Central seats in St. Catherine. Hay-Webster and her opponents signed a Political Code of Conduct pledging to keep the elections violence-free. On Nomination Day (8 August), Webster and McDaniel both turned out with marches of hundreds supporters to the nomination centre at Spanish Village Plaza in Spanish Town
Spanish Town
Spanish Town is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica from the 16th to the 19th century...
; the police were called out, but the rival groups mingled without violence. Hay-Webster herself was returned to her seat, but the PNP as a whole lost their parliamentary majority.
Citizenship controversy
The major issue in Hay-Webster's third term would be her U.S. citizenship, part of a larger battle between the JLP and the PNP over foreign citizenships held by their respective members which broke out almost immediately after the 2007 elections. The JLP won a slim majority, but immediately faced challenges in the victories of two of their members. According to Article 40 of the Constitution of JamaicaConstitution of Jamaica
-History:As a constituent province of the West Indies Federation, Jamaica became independent of the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962 under the Jamaica Independence Act 1962. Under the West Indies Act 1962, the monarchy of the United Kingdom was allowed to form governments for the former colonies of...
, "[n]o person shall be qualified to be appointed as a Senator or elected as a member of the House of Representatives who is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign Power or State" (though Article 39 exempts Commonwealth citizen
Commonwealth citizen
A Commonwealth citizen, which replaces the former category of British subject, is generally a person who is a national of any country within the Commonwealth of Nations....
s from this limitation). At the time, media reports about the citizenship controversies noted that Hay-Webster had been a U.S. citizen and later naturalised as a Jamaican, making her the only naturalised MP, but no indication was given that she remained a U.S. citizen. In late April 2008, Hay-Webster's retention of U.S. citizenship came to light. Jamaican PM Bruce Golding
Bruce Golding
Orette Bruce Golding MP served as Prime Minister of Jamaica from 11 September 2007 to 23 October 2011. He is a member of the Jamaica Labour Party.-Biography:...
and other JLP members, responding to continuing criticism over the U.S. citizenship of JLP member Daryl Vaz
Daryl Vaz
Daryl Vaz is a Jamaican politician. He has been the Minister of Information and Telecommunications in Jamaica since March 2009.He was born in Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica to Douglas and Sonia Vaz...
(whose candidacy had been struck down by the Supreme Court of Jamaica) pointed out in parliament that a member of the PNP was in a similar citizenship situation as Vaz. The MP in question was not named in parliamentary debate, but JLP members gave media interviews in the following week, leading to the revelation that Golding was referring to Hay-Webster. The Supreme Court, in ruling against Vaz, stated that acquiring, renewing, and travelling on a United States passport
United States passport
United States passports are passports issued to citizens and non-citizen nationals of the United States of America. They are issued exclusively by the U.S. Department of State. Besides issuing passports , also limited use passport cards are issued by the same organization subject to the same...
were all acts of allegiance to a foreign power; Hay-Webster stated that her case was not at all analogous to Vaz', because her US passport had long expired and she had never renewed it; she further emphasised that she had no economic or other ties to the United States, and had never even filed a tax return
Tax return (United States)
Tax returns in the United States are reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service or with the state or local tax collection agency containing information used to calculate income tax or other taxes...
there. Nevertheless, the PNP consulted with its lawyers over the issue, and unconfirmed reports said she had been urged to resign. However, for another year, no one would challenge her eligibility to her seat.
In 2009, the two parties came to a compromise over the citizenship issue: JLP MPs Gregory Mair
Gregory Mair
Desmond Gregory Mair is a Jamaican Labour Party member of the Parliament of Jamaica representing the Saint Catherine North East constituency.- Background :...
, Michael Stern, and Shahine Robinson renounce their foreign citizenships, in exchange for a PNP pledge not to contest their seats. However, after Mair was removed from Parliament by court order, the PNP put forth a candidate Granville Valentine in his constituency for the resulting by-election, leading to the breakdown of the agreement. PM Golding then filed constitutional motions against PNP members Ian Hayles and Hay-Webster in May 2009. In August 2009, Hay-Webster seemed to be ready to surrender on the issue, making a public statement that she would renounce her US citizenship. However, even after that announcement, the JLP was still said to be getting ready to serve court papers against her, as part of their larger strategy leading up to the by-elections triggered by Stern's resignation. Hay-Webster came under heavy pressure from influential constituents to relinquish her seat, and in December 2009 she was said to be in discussions with fellow PNP member and onetime MP Colin Campbell about the possibility for him to run for her seat.
The citizenship issue continued to drag out over the following year. In early June 2010, the JLP made a motion in parliament to unseat Hay-Webster, soon after JLP Shahine Robinson had been removed from her own seat follwoing a challenge by PNP member Manley Bowen, leaving the JLP with just a 31-28 majority in parliament. Later that month, she announced that she would not be seeking a fourth term in office, though she denied that the citizenship issue had anything to do with her decision. A Jamaica Gleaner editorial in September 2010 decried her behaviour as "shameless". In December 2010, the JLP made an application to the Supreme Court of Jamaica challenging Hay-Webster's eligibility to sit in parliament due to the fact of her having been a U.S. citizen at the time of the 2007 elections. Hay-Webster declined to comment on the issue. It is possible that the court may retroactively disqualifies her candidacy all the way back to her original election in 1997, meaning that she might lose her entitlement to a parliamentary pension, granted to members of parliament who serve for more than two terms. In response to the challenge, the PNP stated that it would uphold the constitution, but also expressed concern that the challenge had been filed so late in Hay-Webster's term, possibly contravening the Election Petitions Act. The court papers were finally served on 13 January 2011, with the hearing date set for 17 February. The issue seemed to be going nowhere; in March 2011, Golding admitted he had been dragging out the resolution of the citizenship issue in order to avoid undermining his party's majority in parliament.
However, new developments would be seen in the controversy over Hay-Webster's citizenship issues due to the United States diplomatic cables leak
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
. On 22 May 2011, WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
released a cable dated 17 August 2009 regarding the furor over Jamaican MPs' nationality issues. The contents of the cable were reported the same day in the Jamaica Gleaner. According to one statement therein, Hay-Webster had visited the US embassy in Kingston to renounce her United States citizenship on 31 July 2009, but returned four days later to withdraw the renunciation. Hay-Webster gave no immediate response to the matter, stating only that her lawyer had advised her to withhold comment. Hay-Webster later stated that she had changed her mind on her renunciation after advice from local and foreign lawyers, stating that her circumstances differed from the facts of previous Supreme Court cases on dual citizen MPs. Jamaica Observer columnist Clare Forrester spoke out in support of Hay-Webster; however, broader public opinion was turning against her.
Party membership
As early as 2008, it had been speculated that Hay-Webster's days with the PNP might be numbered. That year, she threw her support behind Peter Phillips' candidacy for the presidency of the PNP against incumbent Portia Simpson Miller; however, Phillips lost his bid, placing Hay-Webster in an increasingly precarious position. In late September, in the aftermath of the failed bid, she stepped down from her position in the PNP's shadow CabinetShadow Cabinet
The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...
; the PNP also removed from the parliament's crime committee with no advance notice. In 2010, she gave an interview to the Jamaica Gleaner in which she expressed regret that she had been unable to emulate Michael Manley
Michael Manley
Michael Norman Manley ON OCC was the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica . Manley was a democratic socialist....
's social impact of the 1970s which had inspired her to enter politics in the first place.
In June 2011, after Hay-Webster's retention of U.S. citizenship was revealed, controversy inside the PNP grew, and on 28 June, she resigned from the PNP, bitterly complaining of "abuse and lack of support" from the party. She also criticised the party for "focus[ing] on power rather than principle", echoing complaints over the preceding decade about Portia Simpson Miller's leadership made by fellow party members such as Region Three functionary Paul Burke and PNP Youth Organisation chairman Damion Crawford. In response to Hay-Webster, PNP general secretary Peter Bunting said that Hay-Webster had a credibility problem, and called on her to follow up on her withdrawal from the party by stepping down from parliament rather than remaining in her seat as an independent MP. Hay-Webster dropped hints that she might "cross the aisle" and join the JLP instead; JLP general secretary Aundre Franklin was quoted as saying in response that "the doors of the party are open ... but the principles of the JLP will not be held hostage to any negotiations".
Personal life
Hay-Webster was born at Mountainside HospitalMountainside Hospital
Mountainside Hospital is a community hospital located in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. The hospital has 365 beds and serves Northeastern Essex County. On May 31, 2007, it was purchased by Merit Health Systems, a privately-owned for-profit Louisville, Kentucky hospital management company which acquires,...
in Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,527. In 2010, Glen Ridge was ranked as the 38th Best Place to live by New Jersey Monthly magazine....
in the United States. She thus has birthright citizenship there, though she did not publicly admit this until late in her career. Earlier media reports claimed she was born in Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
. Her grandfather Lucien Hay and father Lloyd Hay were both involved in PNP politics, the former as an assistant to Norman Manley
Norman Manley
Norman Washington Manley MM QC National Hero of Jamaica , was a Jamaican statesman. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s...
and the latter as the PNP's unsuccessful candidate in the North East St Catherine constituency in the 1976 general election
Jamaican general election, 1976
General elections were held in Jamaica on 15 December 1976. The result was a victory for the People's National Party, which won 47 of the 60 seats. Voter turnout was 85.2%.-Results:...
. Her mother was Haitian. Hay-Webster's family moved to Jamaica just a few months after her birth and raised her there. She graduated from St Hugh's Preparatory School
St Hugh's Preparatory School
St Hugh's Preparatory School is a coeducational fee paying school in Kingston, Jamaica for children aged 3 to 12. It is so highly regarded in Jamaica that it is advisable to put one's child on the waiting list before they are born.-History:...
and the University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
. She had long been interested in politics; and in later interviews claimed that the most exciting thing about turning 18 was that she gained the right to vote. She was especially attracted by the socialist ideals of PM Michael Manley
Michael Manley
Michael Norman Manley ON OCC was the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica . Manley was a democratic socialist....
. She applied for Jamaican citizenship in 1987, and took the Oath of Allegiance the following year. She married after entering politics. She and her husband would go on to have two children, but later divorced. Her uncle Calvin Fitz-Henley was murdered in downtown Kingston in May 2008.