DeSilva to run in Southampton East

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Health Minister Zane DeSilva has been unveiled as the Progressive Labour Party’s general election candidate for Southampton East a neighbouring constituency to the one he presently represents.

Explaining why he would be challenging for a different constituency, the Southampton East Central MP said recent boundary changes moved about 400 of his constituents.

“Quite frankly, they canvassed me pretty hard to come over. It was a tough decision, and I’ve done a lot for [constituency] 30,” he said.

The current representative for Southampton East, House Speaker Stanley Lowe is retiring from politics.

Premier Paula Cox described Mr DeSilva as “tireless and fearless”.

She said: “When you ask him to do something, it’s not ‘no’ but ‘yes.’”

Mr DeSilva first entered Parliament in 2007, having ousted United Bermuda Party MP David Dodwell from the Southampton East Central seat with a 48 vote majority.

On Thursday Mr DeSilva told the media that he will continue to listen to the people should he be chosen in the polls. And he pledged his lifelong support for the PLP.

“I will always, for the rest of my life, I will bleed green and I will support our party throughout,” he said.

Crime and the economy were two of the key issues in constituency 29, he said.

“Our people are smart people. They understand that we have a world economic crisis. They understand that the problems that Bermuda is having actually did not start in Bermuda.”

He described his role as Health Minister as a “huge undertaking”.

In his prepared remarks, Mr DeSilva said he had always dreamed of the opportunity to serve Bermuda.

And he pledged that the PLP will always be in solidarity with the people.

He said that the PLP had succeeded in eliminating upfront medical payments, forced down the price of prescription drugs, and introduced FutureCare, the health insurance programme for seniors.

The PLP was fighting to “eliminate discrimination against the physically challenged” and had brought “fairness and equality to municipality elections”, he added.

Mr DeSilva also took aim at his party’s critics.

“Whilst there are those who say they would rather have a suffering people and no debt and there are those who say every man for himself, they don’t know you, hear your pain or fight for you,” he said.

“And whilst there are those who say that they would rather have no debt than protect the jobs of our home-grown Bermudian Civil Service, we say they don’t know you, hear your pain or fight for you.

“And whilst there are those who say that they would rather have no debt than spend $15 million a month on financial assistance for our mothers, children, families and seniors like the PLP does, we say they don’t know you, hear your pain or fight for you.

“And whilst there are those who say we would rather have no debt than spend $100 million on healthcare subsidies, no debt rather than have free bus service for our children and seniors, no debt rather than increase pensions for seniors almost every year since 1998 under the PLP, we say, they don’t know you, hear your pain or fight for you.

“They believe in a Bermuda where the cries of the Bermudian are ignored.”

The Opposition One Bermuda Alliance has not yet announced a candidate for Southampton East. Leah Scott has been chosen as the candidate for Southampton East Central, running against the PLP’s Stephen Todd.

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