College administrator Eugenie Simmons yesterday confirmed that she has formally indicated her interest in being the Progressive Labour Party?s candidate for the upcoming Sandys North by-election to find a replacement for the late Eugene Cox.

When contacted, Ms Simmons said that as a native born Somerset resident with a wealth of community activism under her belt she felt eminently qualified to put her name forward and was keen to ensure that her party does not abandon its labour roots, while meeting the needs of all Bermuda residents.

?I?ve lived in Somerset all my life, I understand the need for hands-on representation for the good of the community.

?Having served as chair of Sandys branch, I understand the need to constantly canvass the community and to visit voters in their homes and hear their concerns, not just at election time but this really has to be done on a regular basis,? she said.

?I decided to throw my hat in the ring because I firmly support labour principles. As I see the party growing mature and it represents the entire country, it has to be reflective of all walks of life. I am particularly keen to ensure that in this growth process we don?t lose sight of our labour roots.?

She added: ?When I look at 36 and when I look at Sandys Parish, and in fact other areas, that?s where my heart is ? to work for the working class, to ensure that basic survival needs are met ? housing, educational policies are implemented and work in their interests and opportunities are there so they can take advantage of all that the country has to offer.?

As an area of future growth and economic development, a lot was at stake at the West End, she said, and it was important that the constituents remain stakeholders in the process.

Ms Simmons is director for Professional and Career Development at the Bermuda College and is believed to be one of the front runners to replace outgoing College president Michael Orenduff.

She has spent her entire professional life in education, except for a three-year period when she was the chief executive officer of the National Drug Commission.

She was at one-time chair of the activist group Sandys Against Drugs, has two Masters degrees and is about to complete a doctorate in Organisational Leadership in Adult and Higher Education.

She is one of about eight people within the ranks of the ruling party interested in representing Sandys North.

Others are David Burch, Dawn Simmons, Ellen-Kate Horton, Senator Michael Scott, Nelda Simons and Melvin Simmons.

Only Dawn Simmons, a human resource professional at insurer XL, and Eugenie Simmons have publicly confirmed their interest, however.

All potential candidates have strong connections within the party and in Somerset.

This week former Housing Minister and chief of staff to former Premier Jennifer Smith was named as one of the members of the steering committee of a fund set up to memorialise the late Finance Minister.

Col. Burch declined to confirm, or deny, reports that he was seeking to replace Mr. Cox in the House of Assembly.

But he appears to have the endorsement of the Cox family ? he was credited with the idea of starting the memorial fund and is one of just two non-family members on its steering committee, and his former colleague Finance Minister Paula Cox praised him lavishly this week.

?All candidates would be seeking endorsements,? said Ms Simmons this week.

?I would say Mr. Burch is no different. However the beauty of democracy is that the branch gets to pick the candidate that will best represent them.?

She added that the fact that there was such high interest in the contest showed how the party?s internal politics were improving.

Parochial issues in District 36 included affordable housing and drugs and crime, she said.

?There is the ongoing concern with drugs and crime and the fact that some of the young men in the area ? irrespective of the fact that we seem to have a climate of available employment ? are not working.

?And we still see a prevalent drug problem within certain pockets of the community. With the development of the Dockyard area some residents have expressed concern about Somerset Village ? that it still has a role to play in this development.

?And there are others who see the need to balance the need for affordable housing with the need to preserve some of the pockets of arable land in the area.

We don?t want to become too congested.?