LOUD LIFE, QUIET GOODBYE - Tributes pour in for straight-talking former minister and MP

As tributes continue for Dean Peart – the gregarious brother of former House Speaker Michael Peart and son of former Member of Parliament Ernest Peart – his death yesterday marked the end of two-thirds of the Peart dynasty in representational politics. A father and his sons served for almost 70 years combined for the People’s National Party (PNP), all representing constituencies in the parish of Manchester.
Peart and his brother carried forward the legacy of their father Ernest, serving alongside each other in the Lower House and cementing the place of one of Jamaica’s distinguished political families.
Meeting Peart for the first time was not for the faint-hearted, especially when it came to settling an argument. ‘Deanie’, as he was affectionately called, was widely known as the noisy and jovially cantankerous Peart who had an aversion to endless arguments, prolonging matters beyond their political expiry date, and unnecessary niceties. He was known for cutting straight to the heart of issues.
Former government minister and Member of Parliament for Manchester Central, John Junor, said Peart did not know how to be diplomatic.
“Diplomacy was not his strong point. In fact, many times he misspoke, as they would say. He didn’t do it to offend anyone, but sometimes people took offence despite knowing who he was. What you saw of him was what you got. There wasn’t another side,” Junor recalled of Peart.
While serving as mayor of Mandeville, Junor said that during his foray into representational politics in Manchester Central, he broke his ankle during the campaign.
“Deanie put me in his car and drove me himself in the constituency, so I could campaign. That was the kind of person he was, and someone who took his politics seriously. You never heard his name or that of his brother Michael mixed up in anything shady. They are not from that ilk, and he had the legacy of his father Ernest to live up to,” recalled Junor.
In its tribute, the PNP said it mourned the passing of Dean Alexander Peart, former MP, councillor, mayor of Mandeville, and former Cabinet minister.
Peart served in several ministries as a state minister before being granted a full ministry. He served for 22 years as a five-term MP and, according to the PNP, represented his constituents with unmatched dedication.
The party said that under his watch, 13 community centres and numerous basic schools were built across the constituency, as he championed education for young people.
“Known for integrity, hard work and straight talk, Deanie was loved by the people he served and respected across the political divide,” said the PNP, extending condolences to his wife and children.
SERVED WITH HARD WORK, DEVOTION
PNP President Mark Golding echoed the sentiment of the party, noting, “For 22 years, Deanie served his constituents with hard work and a devotion that set the standard for representational politics. His community centres, basic schools and scholarship fund stand as living monuments to his love for the people.”
Current Manchester Central MP Mikael Phillips recalled that after winning the contest to replace Peart and in preparation for the 2011 general election, he visited the constituency office the following week, where Peart helped prepare him for many of the administrative functions of being an MP.
“That contest was managed so well. I was the constituency chairman, and along with Hopeton McCatty, as constituency secretary. It was just managed properly. There was no tension and that transition taught me the skills of just managing the constituency office, managing the agencies, managing pay, how to deal with constituents and the programmes that are workable and leaving something that amounted to more than just spending on welfare,” Phillips recalled yesterday.
Phillips said Peart did not change who he was for politics.
“Deanie’s personality didn’t change. He was just the same, a youth from Battersea who grew up in a rural community, who did not change. No matter who he was around, he was just himself. There were some individuals who were like his family. Most of them are deceased now, but he would not pass their yards and not go look for them, like Miss Babs. He was the one that would eat out of everybody’s pot, go lie down on everybody’s bed, because he was home,” said Phillips in remembrance.
On his straight talking, Phillips said, “he had 
his way of communicating”.
“Some people saw it as being rude, but it was just him. They understood him, and he understood them. Don’t give Deanie a message and say, ‘Don’t tell anybody’, because he is going to confront that person about it. That type of person, as I said - a youth born in rural Jamaica, grew up in rural Jamaica who could rub shoulders with anybody, but just never changed. His personality never changed,” said Phillips.
According to Phillips, Peart was honest as a judge.
“If you were a thief, he is not going around the bush to tell you that you are a thief. I think that is why some people say his mouth ‘never join church’. And he is known for using some expletives in speaking, but that was who he was,” he told The Gleaner.
Peart had the distinction of backing two losing challengers for the leadership of the PNP. First, it was Portia Simpson Miller in 1992, in the contest to replace late party leader and former Prime Minister Michael Manley, and again in 2005. He supported Dr Peter Phillips to replace P.J. Patterson, who defeated Simpson Miller in 1992.
Peart, however, held no grudge and was recorded saying: “A suh politics guh, enuh. But de whole a wi a PNP.”
Meanwhile, the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) hailed Peart as a competent and strident politician who understood standards of decency and decorum.
JLP General Secretary Dr Horace Chang said Peart was committed to Jamaica and its development.
“He was generally honest in his remarks on issues of national importance. However, though he was robust when he thought it necessary in his submissions to Parliament, Mr Peart never resorted to being indecent or disrespectful. His conduct in Parliament and the political arena, in general, was of the highest calibre. We will miss his contributions to national discourse,” the statement read.
The JLP general secretary said it was worthy of note that “though he belonged to the opposite side of the political aisle, Dean Peart believed in collaborating with all relevant stakeholders in order to advance any cause that was in the national interest”.
According to him, “Dean was of an era where there was a general understanding that disagreement was inevitable, but it was never an excuse for insolence. He was strident in defending causes in which he believed. He was a competent servant of the people.”
In expressing condolences on behalf of the party, Chang said Dean hailed from a family that believed in giving genuine and committed public service.
“His contribution will not be forgotten,” he said.
Peart was 77 years old and had been suffering from a terminal illness. He is survived by his wife Vynette and children.
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