For Dawn Simmons, one of several possible candidates for the upcoming Sandys North by-election, politics is a family tradition.

Her father Eugene Gilbert worked in the background for many Progressive Labour Party (PLP) electoral campaigns and paved the way for her to play key roles in the party machinery

"The PLP was always a part of our lives because he (Mr. Gilbert) worked every election until he passed," said Mrs. Simmons, a trainer at XL Capital Ltd.

Watching her father and others engaged in the PLP, at a time when association with the then Opposition party could invite social ostracism, left an indelible impression on her, she said.

And it was party stalwarts like the late Eugene Cox, Walter Lister and Walter Roberts who encouraged her to bid for elective office.

"For a long time Mr. Cox encouraged me to get more involved. We talked about it a lot and I asked him to give me a little more time. With his untimely death, there is no more time," Mrs. Simmons said.

"I think I would be paying tribute to them by throwing my hat in the ring."

Mrs. Simmons launched her political career when she returned to the Island from her studies abroad in 1982, quickly moving up the ranks from branch worker, secretary, chairperson of the Somerset branch and assistant secretary general for membership.

"I thought it was a natural thing," she says of her decision to become a party official. "And I was impressed with the people who ran the party at the time."

Last year she gave up the chair just in time for electoral reform which ushered in single seat elections and a branch system based on 36 newly created districts instead of parishes.

Her experience within the party machinery, she says, should help her chances of being selected the candidate to contest the seat made vacant by the death of Eugene Cox.

"I'm trusting they would look at my involvement in the party and my involvement in the community."

As a representative, she said, she will "definitely" be a part of the community, and will want to motivate constituents to "take ownership of their community."

"So whether it takes working together as a group to make changes in the community or whether it takes government involvement, there's a lot of potential," she said.

She added that it was important to remember that the district was more than just the Watford Bridge area, but took in Somerset Village, Dockyard, Daniel's Head and the West End Sailboat Club.

Married with a nine-year-old son, Mrs. Simmons lives in the parish, though not in Sandys North.

"Being a part of our community you get to see people's struggles," she said. As a parish council member, she has worked on providing solutions for senior citizens and community concerns about young people in the area hanging around doing nothing.

"Our young people have a lot of opportunity, but it's a question of how do we motivate them to want to be a part of the opportunities that are out there?"

Asked why some area youth appeared to be unmotivated, she said: "I think it's a combination of not feeling that they fit in and feeling that they want to do what their friends are doing. And some of them feel it's all right to do what they like and just relax."

But she also pointed out that community cohesiveness may be dwindling.

"When I grew up everyone was always welcome in my house and I try to do the same with my son. But maybe we've moved away from that."

And a final word on her mentor ?

"One thing that always amazed me about Mr. Cox was his loyalty and his commitment to doing right and it did not matter if everybody felt he was being too loyal or too committed ? it was just his way."