Newcomers ready for busy times ahead

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Busy days lie ahead for the Island’s roster of 13 newly elected, first-time MPs.

Jeanne Atherden, the OBA winner in Pembroke West, said earlier in the polling day that she would provide a new voice for the area’s voters.

“They want to be part of the process and they want someone who will bring them change,” she said.

In St George’s North, Kenneth Bascome’s victory signalled the end for his three years as mayor of the Old Town.

“We have made promises to the community,” Mr Bascome told The Royal Gazette yesterday. “When I speak to the issues, 99.9 percent of them I have carried out.”

Top issues facing the new MP in his constituency now include the closed golf course, and the prospective hotel.

Mr Bascome said he believed the Park Hyatt development will come through. A fully functioning police and fire station also would be on his list of issues to address.

New PLP MP for Constituency 18 David Burt said his business going forward was simply to represent the residents of his area.

“The people of Pembroke West Central can trust me to represent their views and opinions,” he said.

In Devonshire South Central, OBA leader Craig Cannonier, another new MP, summed up his new agenda.

“We have a lot of work to do — and first thing in the morning we will getting jobs back out there for Bermudians,” Mr Cannonier said. “We need to get Bermudians back to work.”

Proud new PLP MP for Pembroke South East Rolfe Commissiong said: “I want to offer heartfelt thanks to the constituents of 21 who have placed their confidence and trust in the PLP and my candidacy.

“It's been a long journey. We have finished one part of it and now the big journey begins. I am ready to work for and on behalf of my constituents."

In St George’s East, the OBA’s Nandi Davis said she confronted long-standing parochial issues of street signage, walls and the condition of the town.

In Pembroke South West, newcomer Susan Jackson, another OBA MP, was unavailable for comment.

In her victory speech last night, however, she spoke of “getting to work and doing everything we can to bring about positive change on the Island”.

Hamilton South’s new OBA MP Sylvan Richards said he planned to focus on parochial issues.

Certain areas needed sheltered bus stops in the constituency, he said, and traffic issues were of concern to voters throughout the area.

“For the most part, it’s the economy we need to address,” Mr Richards said.

OBA MP for Devonshire North West Glen Smith, who unseated Premier Paula Cox, echoed the fiscal concern.

“We need jobs, we need to get our people working again,” he said.

In Warwick South East, the PLP’s Lawrence Scott, a political newcomer, is also a new MP.

The victor of Constituency 24 was unavailable for comment, however.

Asked what she would do if she won, last night’s new OBA MP Leah Scott, who took Southampton East Central, said: “I can’t say. If the OBA does become Government, it will mean meeting with one another as a group to sums out the national issues.”

In Warwick North Central, new OBA MP Wayne Scott pledged to strive as a voice for his community, vowed to “work my tail off to help get Bermuda on track” and summed up his priority as “jobs”.

Work was also on the agenda for the 13th newly elected MP, Jeff Sousa.

“The hard work starts now — to get Bermudians back to work,” he said.

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