''The Honourable'' Danville Walker,

O.J. OJ may refer to: * Orange juice People In American football * O. J. Simpson (1947–2024), American football player, broadcaster, actor, and convicted felon * Ottis Anderson, Ottis Jerome "O.J." Anderson (born 1957), American football playe ...

is a

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n politician, formerly Director of Elections and Commissioner of Customs, as well as a one-time candidate for the

Parliament of Jamaica The Parliament of Jamaica () is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. Officially, they are known as the Houses of Parliament. It consists of three elements: The Monarchy of Jamaica, Crown (represented by the Govern ...

Career

Walker was appointed as Director of Elections and head of the Electoral Office of Jamaica from 1997 to 2008. He also became chief executive officer of the Office of National Reconstruction in 2004, overseeing reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of

Hurricane Ivan Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, and devastating tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane, and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic h ...

. In May 2008, he resigned from his position as Director of Elections, and took up a new job as Commissioner of Customs the following month. In 2011, Walker announced his intention to run as the

Jamaica Labour Party The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP; ) is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party (PNP). While its name might suggest that it is a social democratic party (as is the case for "Labour" parties in se ...

candidate in the Central

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

constituency in the election late that year. He stated that he had renounced his U.S. citizenship in preparation for his candidacy, but that he still considered himself a member of the Jamaican diaspora and would strive to represent that group as an MP. He ran against incumbent Peter Bunting, the General Secretary of the

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) (PNP; ) is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by Norman Manley, Norman Washington Manley who served as party president unti ...

; he chose Central Manchester because he relished the challenge of taking on Bunting. In the end, he was defeated by 10,606 to 10,067 votes, with 61.58%

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

. In February, after his election defeat, Walker resigned from the JLP to take a job in the private sector. His sudden resignation led to recriminations against

Audley Shaw Audley Shaw CD MP (born 13 June 1952) is a Jamaican politician. He currently serves as Minister of Transport & Mining since January 2022. Prior to this appointment he served as the Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce from September ...

, who was responsible for recruiting him. In June 2012, he appeared in court pursuant to allegations that he had breached the Contractor General's Act during his time as Customs Director; the Director of Public Prosecutions complained that he was uncooperative with a probe into export of

scrap metal Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap can have monetary value, especially recover ...

in contravention of a ministerial order. Walker was named managing director of the ''

Jamaica Observer The ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by ...

'' in March 2012, holding the position for seven years until April 2019 when he stepped down in order to pursue other interests.

Personal life

Walker grew up on Bay Farm Road in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), 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 spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

in the 1970s. His father was a baker and a supporter of the PNP. Walker joined the

Jamaica Defence Force The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the combined military of Jamaica, consisting of an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The JDF is based upon the British military model, with ...

at the age of 20. He has two sisters, Denise Walker-Lewis and Karen Walker-Coutrier. He was named a member of the

Order of Jamaica The Order of Jamaica is the fifth of the six orders in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and it is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system. Membership in the Order can be conferred upon ...

in October 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Danville Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Jamaica Labour Party politicians Politicians from Kingston, Jamaica Former United States citizens Members of the Order of Jamaica