Kenneth Bascome may not be as famous in Bermuda as his election opponent Dame Jennifer Smith ¿ but in St. George's he could hardly be better known.

Born and bred on Wellington Hill in the parish of St. George's, he has served on the Corporation of the old town since 1994 and has been deputy mayor for almost two years.

Raised by a single mom, he says his highest aspiration in life remains to "make my mother proud". The 59-year-old admits he was no angel back in his youth, having what he describes as "several brushes with the other side of what you might call upstanding citizens" and a night in a maximum security jail in Toronto after he flew to Canada following a fight on the Island.

But he says that experience left him determined to harness his negative energy for good and he has spent much of his adult life trying to steer young people onto the right side of the tracks.

For 22 years he operated the beach concession at Tobacco Bay with his wife Rochelle and has run other small businesses. He now drives cab for a living but refuses to call himself a taxi driver. "I'm an ambassador," he explains.

The father-of-one was a Progressive Labour Party stalwart until the party overlooked him to run as Dame Jennifer's running mate in the 1998 General Election.

Instead, he ran as an independent that year, coming a dismal fifth out of six candidates and netting 101 votes. But his switch to the United Bermuda Party saw him win 415 votes in the last election, just eight short of the then-Premier.

Since then, he says he has "just continued to work and do the things that I have done all along".

He adds: "I'm hopeful that this time around the voters of constituency number one will afford me the privilege to be their parliamentary representative."

One of his key election pledges is to install round-the-clock Police coverage in St. George's.

He also promises an upgrade of the sewage treatment system as he says raw sewage is still pumped into the sea in the East End.

Other pledges include improved traffic conditions, better youth and community recreation facilities, a job skills training programme, improved quality of life for seniors and more affordable housing.

Mr. Bascome intends to stay as an alderman on the Corporation if elected to the House of Assembly and believes the dual role will help him to bring about change for the area.

He says canvassing hasn't been easy since some black voters consider him a traitor for standing for the UBP.

"I have been subject to comments from my people but, hey, that doesn't faze me.

"I've been called Uncle Tom and a UBP ¿ 'Used Black Person'.

"That doesn't bother me. I made a decision and I have to live by the decision I made.

"I believe that myself and Gina Spence-Farmer and Tillman Darrell don't fit the profile of the norm of the UBP."