Hector John
Hector John (born 22 October 1970) is a Dominican politician in the United Workers' Party. He is the current Leader of the Opposition, the youngest ever to hold that position. He was first elected as a Representative to the House of Assembly in 2009.
John was born in Salisbury, Dominica. He graduated from the St. Joseph Campus of the Dominica Grammar School, and then earned a B.A. in Information Technology from Monroe College in New York.[1]
Hector worked in the banana industry for over 16 years, as a statistics officer and information technology assistant.[1] He was active in the Salisbury community as a leader of several organizations, including the Salisbury Catholic Youth Movement and the Salisbury Improvement Committee.[1]
John entered politics as a candidate for the Salisbury parliamentary constituency in the 2009 general election, on the ticket of the opposition United Workers' Party. John won against the Labour Party candidate Bentley Royer on 18 December 2009, with 817 to 512 votes (60.7% to 38.1%); the overall results left the UWP with only three of the twenty-one seats.[2]
John subsequently joined the UWP boycott of the House of Assembly, in protest against alleged election irregularities.[3] After John did not attend three consecutive sessions, Speaker of the House Alix Boyd Knights declared his and another UWP seat vacant in April, and a by-election was scheduled for 9 July 2010.[4] John again ran and won against Royer for the Salisbury constituency in the by-election, with 772 votes to Royer's 415 (64.4% to 34.6%).[5]
John was sworn in as Leader of the Opposition on 19 July 2010.[6]
References
- ^ a b c United Workers' Party, Hector (Spaggs) John, Workers' Voice Online, retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^ Electoral Office (21 December 2009), House of Assembly General Election 2009 - Final Count (PDF), Commonwealth of Dominica, retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^ Opposition continues boycott of Parliament, Caribbean Daily News, 29 March 2010, retrieved 25 September 2010.
- ^ BBC Caribbean News in Brief: Opposition wins Dominica by-election, BBC Caribbean, 12 July 2010, retrieved 14 July 2010
- ^ Electoral Office, 2010 By-Election Results (Final Count), Commonwealth of Dominica, retrieved 25 September 2010. See also Bentley Royer Begrudgingly Concedes Defeat in Salisbury, Dominica Central, 10 July 2010, retrieved 14 July 2010.
- ^ Hector John Sworn in as Leader of the Opposition, Dominica Central, 20 July 2010, retrieved 2010-09-25.
  | This article about a politician from Dominica is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |