A year in politics has left Dean Foggo a bald man. He?s changed in other ways too ? he now looks forward to Opposition MP Maxwell Burgess? thunder in the House of Assembly and the former teacher could end up one of the doyens of corporate Bermuda.

Asked to described how his life has changed one year after winning a House of Assembly seat, Mr. Foggo did not hesitate to say he was now as bald as an egg.

He took to the razor this year after deciding not to get into a major battle with nature.

?It was thinning. I turned 40 in January and I noticed some changes. But I guess politics has something to do with it too,? he said.

?We?re under a lot of stress trying to do everything for everybody and making sure I meet my constituents? concerns.?

The initial stress came at the beginning of his tenure. ?You go into it, you?re elected and you want to stay elected.? Then he got wise. ?I realised I cannot solve everybody?s problems as a backbencher. And as long as I took their concerns to the right Minister I felt more secure.?

Mr. Foggo had to give up his job as a teacher at CedarBridge Academy to run for elective office and when he won the poll to represent St. George?s West a year ago, he worked briefly at Care Computer Services and is now a reconciliations administrator at Butterfield Bank.

Like many ruling party MPs, Mr. Foggo has had his share of vitriolic criticism from supporters of the other side.

Unlike many ruling party MPs he?s happy to share those experiences with the Press ? and with a dollop of humour to boot.

?I sent out cards to each of my constituents and one came back with a letter saying I have pipe dreams, that I wouldn?t succeed in politics and I should go back to teaching now that the teachers had wage increases,? he said.

?I thought it was funny. I was going church that day so I took it and put it on the altar and prayed about it. Certain things stress me out and certain things don?t.?

The unsigned letter fell in the latter category ?because I knew where to take it and I was going that way?.

He has thought about going back to school to a job he loves and misses. But, says Mr. Foggo: ?Quitting is not what I do so, that wasn?t an option.?

Besides, he added, he had vowed not to be a one term MP.

?I?ve seriously thought about going back to teaching. Yes. After being in it for ten years, I?ve gone through the emotions of what impact I?m making as an MP as opposed to the impact I?ve made as a teacher so there have been struggles. But I don?t want to be a one term MP and I think that will keep me from stopping.?

And Mr. Foggo says that the whole issue of civil servants? involvement in politics should be revisited.

?We are losing so many valuable teachers. It could be revised for certain aspects of the civil service.?

Mr. Foggo?s classroom was, apparently, more disciplined than the House of Assembly. He recalls his early days when he assumed that parliamentary proceedings would be ruled by basic rules such as courtesy, timeliness and being quiet while others were speaking.

But he?s made a ?big adjustment? and carries on like the rest of his colleagues when someone from the other side is on their feet.

?Now I understand that?s the nature of the beast, so you have to get over it real quick and adjust to it.?

Asked which of the Opposition MPs elicits his loudest groans when they rise to speak, Mr. Foggo was diplomatic.

?I have challenges when some speakers speak ? I get irritated,? he said. ?I?m not going to mention her name.?

But he does admit he had serious ?challenges? with Maxwell Burgess who has carved out a reputation as Parliament?s impromptu rapper-cum-preacher in residence.

?When I first went I couldn?t stand listening to Maxwell Burgess speak but now I enjoy it.?

Asked how he acquired the taste for Mr. Burgess? lyrics, he said he had to learn to ?overlook the delivery and look for the message?.

?Now I enjoy the delivery and the message,? Mr. Foggo said.

Learning not to take Opposition criticism personally was an important tool in handling the stress of politics, he added.

?After realising that it was stressing me out, the hair was thinning and all that, I decided it?s time for a change,? he said.

?Actually I prayed about it, went on vacation and came back. It was the handling of the stress ? not taking it personally. The Opposition does their role and does it strongly, very strongly.?

Perhaps his biggest lesson, however, was to ignore advice on how to go about the business of politics and just be himself.

?I could not be someone else. People told me go on the radio, do this, be a Kenny, be a Kim. And I had to say ?I have to be Dean, I cannot be Kenny and I cannot be Kim?. So now people stop me in the street and I can only be me. And I ask them about their issues,? he continued.

?I?m not the one to be all up in the papers making the loud noise.?

Mr. Foggo?s maiden speech in the House was on the very first sitting of Parliament after the 2003 General Election.

He had to respond to Opposition criticisms surrounding Deputy Premier Ewart Brown?s ?We had to deceive you? speech delivered to delegates during the Progressive Labour Party?s post election power struggle.

?I wanted people to know there was no deception on my part and there was no misrepresentation as per the UBP was saying,? he explained.

Mr. Foggo made headlines during the election campaign with his publicly stated ambition to be the Education Minister.

He was passed over for a Cabinet post by two Premiers in succession, it was pointed out to him.

?Actually the first Premier offered me a junior ministry. It lasted half a day and what an experience that was,? he quipped.

?I don?t see it as being turned down. I look at it as being 14th in line. I could be next in line ? you could be talking to the Transport Minister next month.?

But he is a lot more patient now and has his sights set not on Education, but the Tourism and Telecommunications portfolios ? areas which ?excite? him.

?If this was my second term, I would have pushed for that Ministry when Renee Webb resigned.?