Senator Wayne Caines and businesswoman Jane Corriea were unveiled yesterday by the Progressive Labour Party to fight Opposition-held seats in Hamilton and Smith's.

Sen. Caines, 35, who is the Premier's chief of staff, will fight United Bermuda Party newcomer Darius Tucker in Hamilton South as sitting Opposition MP Maxwell Burgess retires from the seat he held last time by 106 votes.

And Mrs. Correia, 44, faces an even tougher fight against Cole Simons who won Smith's South by a 400-plus vote margin in the 2003 general election. She is the second white candidate to be announced by the PLP for the election which has yet to be called.

Asked what had made her want to stand, she said: "The driving force is, if this country is going to go forward, I firmly believe we have to have inter-racial balances in both parties and, working in the construction industry, the labour party is obviously a natural fit.

"I believe in what they stand for and believe they really want to heal the community in race relations and I wanted to be a part of that. The Premier has started the Big Conversation but sadly not many people are taking advantage of it."

Since becoming a candidate she has been hosting small groups of women to chew over race topics. "We have learned a lot about each other," she said.

Despite moving to Bermuda from England when she was seven she only got status through her marriage to construction boss Dennis Corriea and only got the right to vote three years ago so has never had the chance to exercise it. She said the UBP didn't reflect "what Bermuda is made up of these days".

Asked if the PLP weren't even less representative of Bermuda's racial make up, she said: "Let's just say I haven't been comfortable with some things the UBP have done and as a result of that I have chosen to go into politics and to be a candidate for the PLP."

Asked what that issue was Mrs. Correia, who is Correia Construction's contracts administrator, said: "It was all over the front page of The Royal Gazette three years ago, accusations of our company and the Premier. But I would rather not go into that."

Three years ago the Opposition attacked Government for awarding Correia Construction a contract to repair the Dockyard foreshore damaged in Hurricane Fabian without putting it out to open tender. Then Works and Engineering Minister Ashfield DeVent had said no other bids had been sought because other marine building contractors had been tied up or had lacked the resources to do the job.

And earlier this year the Mid-Ocean News ran an article claiming that Government had given Correia Construction the bulk of the building work for the new multi-million pound cruise ship pier in Dockyard.

At that time, company boss Dennis Correia had insisted the tendering process for the cruise ship pier had been carried out correctly and that his friendship with the Premier had not been a factor in any decision, despite claims other people had not been given sufficient time to put together rival bids. Correia Construction have also been given the Government contract to build a new vehicle emissions test centre.