Sandys South voters will pick their new Member of Parliament at the polls tomorrow.

Several residents of Constituency 33 told The Royal Gazette they would have preferred to have kept Independent MP Terry Lister, who decisively won the seat in 2012 for the Progressive Labour Party, but retired from politics in September.

Others meanwhile voiced their support for Opposition candidate Jamahl Simmons, confirming the area’s reputation as a PLP stronghold, while some favoured One Bermuda Alliance contender Georgia Marshall — and a few will abstain, expressing weariness with the Island’s political divide.

“I’m skipping,” said one, a lifelong resident of White Hill Lane. “At the end of the day, none of them have answers. Put it this way — they perhaps have answers, but they don’t want to make hard decisions, because of politics.”

Representatives from both parties had knocked on her door, but she said she hadn’t been home.

Asked about Mr Lister, she said: “I liked him until he got caught up in the politics as well. Politics takes over.” Her top concerns were that “we’ve lost our young people, and that’s across our entire Island; our affluence has led us to lose a generation of young people that we now expect to take care of us”.

Nearby White Hill Field, no longer equipped with a club house, was another definite issue, she said: “That was a major part of our community.” The field effectively signals the start of Constituency 33, which spans Somerset Bridge before ending by the junction of Somerset Road with Sound View Road.

Also near to the field was Elm Lane resident Raymond Whitecross, who 20 years ago ran as a National Liberal Party candidate in Southampton West, and said he’d definitely vote tomorrow.

Asked who he supported, Mr Whitecross replied yesterday that he was “still thinking” — and said he hadn’t so far met the two candidates, just “people on their behalf”.

“Terry Lister was good,” he said. “He always showed up. If you’re going to run, you have to show yourself. You can’t send others to do the job.”

On the issue of White Hill Field, Mr Whitecross said he was happy to see children using the field, but felt that the club house had caused so many social problems, with drinking and antisocial behaviour.

Reversing unemployment and maintaining the Government Health Insurance Plan (HIP) emerged as his top priorities.

Farther north on Overplus Lane, a resident of some 35 years said seniors’ health costs were her concern, citing an elderly woman on future care who still faced “exorbitant” costs for treatment abroad.

“We need jobs, especially for young people. People are coming back with degrees and are unable to find work.”

Saying she’d endorsed Terry Lister in the past, she added that she been impressed with Ms Marshall, and was waiting to talk to Mr Simmons before making a decision.

At the north end of the constituency, on Ratteray Lane, another long term resident said she’d received a letter from Ms Marshall and hadn’t seen Mr Simmons yet.

“I’m a PLP person, that’s for sure,” she added, saying her decision was already set.

“Things are pretty quiet up here. I don’t know what they’ll be able to do with the shooting situation. It’s not a political issue. I guess that’s what everybody has on their mind.”

Of Mr Lister, she said: “I like him as a person. As a politician, I didn’t think he did well. Once they get in, what do they really do for the constituency? But I’m not so much into the politics. I just wish they’d lower my land tax.”

On nearby Wilson Place, another resident couldn’t have disagreed more.

“When Mr Lister was MP here, he got things done. If he’d run as an Independent I am sure he would have gotten there. Anything you said, he’d look into it. I told him one time how dark it was up here at night. Four days later there was a pole and a light going up. All through Sandys South, anything that needed attention, he got it done.”

Asked about the latest candidates, he replied: “Who needs another lawyer and who needs someone who’s been through Mr Simmons’s political history? I don’t like his attitude. I told them they’d never fill Mr Lister’s shoes.” He said he wasn’t sure if he would vote tomorrow.

Ms Marshall won a solid endorsement from a Morgan Hill resident, who said she’d liked her energy, “regardless of her career path”.

“I liked the fact that she came around,” she said. “That got me started.” Dominant concerns were “gangs — this has become an area where people can’t come, depending on whether they’re recognised as being from the other side”.

On Store Lane, where Mr Lister resides, one resident said he was “strictly PLP and nothing less — it doesn’t matter who comes out. I’ll be there Tuesday for sure. I’ll make sure my party stays in.” He said he’d voted for Mr Lister in the past, and identified the loss of the White Hill club house as a top concern.

A visiting former resident added: “I’d be PLP — I’ve been labour all my life. I don’t have anything against the OBA. They have a different philosophy. Michael Dunkley and I were in the same class in Saltus.” A former president of the White Hill club, he also supported bringing back the facility — and said he and Mr Lister “go way back”. He said he hoped to see Mr Simmons win.

“I’ve spoken with both,” he said. “I only have one side.”

Of those who will abstain tomorrow, not all were driven by disenchantment with Party politics: one Heydon Estate resident said she wouldn’t go for religious reasons.

“I’m a Jehovah’s Witness. I don’t vote,” she said. “It only takes God to make a change. That’s what we rely on.”