Substance abuse and the environment are motivating concerns for Ashfield deVent in his bid to represent the people of Pembroke East Central in the House of Assembly.

"I think I have something to offer," the 45 year old said yesterday.

The Progressive Labour Party (PLP) could do with "some new blood, new faces and new thought" and he was well acquainted with the constituency. "I have lived in the area my entire life and so have first hand experience of the challenges in the area and I am particularly concerned with substance abuse and the problems that that causes."

He said the constituency's proximity to a "fast expanding city" made it quite unique.

"It is going to mean lots of foresight for the future regarding open space, traffic and just maintaining a good quality of life as we build on top of each other."

He added : "One of my main interests is the environment and as a small developing Island we are going to be faced with unique waste management problems."

He said he was also aware that the greying of the local population will feature strongly in parochial and national politics.

"That's going to feature here and Island wide - Bermudians are not producing and we are becoming an older population."

Mr. deVent, with Senator Calvin Smith, beat out three other candidates on Saturday as the ruling party completed the first round of candidate selection for the November 26 poll. The Central Committee will this week make the final decision after mulling the branch organisation's recommendations.

"The fact that we had an election and the fact that there were five good candidates bodes well for the pursuit of democracy within the party and for the country," he said. "I guess I'd like to thank those members of the branch who did support me and I pledge to continue to work for the community regardless of the outcome."

He said that while he had long contemplated public service, his decision to throw his hat in the ring for the Pembroke East Central nomination was a last minute one because a number of branch members had urged him to do so.

When asked he said that he had long been involved with the Progressive Labour Party and did not think his role as a journalist would be compromised by going public with his political affiliations or his possible candidacy.

Mr. deVent said that he believed that, as the country moves closer to adopting a single seat electoral system, candidates' familiarity with their areas will become more important.

"With just over 1,000 in each (proposed constituency) it's not unrealistic for representatives to be expected to be more familiar with a district," he said.

As for his party's prospects in the upcoming poll, he would not hazard a guess. "I wouldn't even attempt to read the voters," he said. "The seat has been lost before and I think the days of safe seats are past. Anybody who wants to get in is going to have to work and have a genuine connection with the community."

Educated at Prospect Primary, Warwick Academy, and Cable and Wireless Engineering College, Mr. deVent currently works as a reporter for VSB news and has also co-hosted the popular call in radio show Night Talk.

After completing high school he worked at Cable and Wireless for almost 14 years in a number of different capacities until promoted to network management supervisor responsible for quality control of the company's international telephone network. While there he was elected Vice President of the company's division of the Bermuda Public Service Association. He later worked briefly at the Tynes Bay Waste Processing Facility as a process controller.

For 15 years up until 1997, he owned and operated a taxi and served for three years on the United Nations Committee for Sustainable Development as a representative of nations of the South.

And he was a member of the community organisation Friswell's Hill United Committee, a registered charity, which organises community events to foster better relations among the community.

The poll takes place on November 26 and is being held to fill the seat made vacant by the death of David Allen.