The Royal Gazette today turns the spotlight on the Hon. Pamela Gordon, United Bermuda Party MP for Southampton West.

Of the newly-elected MPs who entered the House of Assembly last Friday, only one arrived with experience in her Ministry.

The Hon. Pamela Gordon will continue as Minister of Youth and Sport, the portfolio she has handled from the Senate. Ms Gordon was named to the Upper House after her unsuccessful run in the Progressive Labour Party stronghold of Pembroke East in 1989.

With Ministry responsibilities, her new role as a United Bermuda Party MP for Southampton West, part-time management work at the St. George's Club, and her job raising two children as a single mother, it is little wonder Ms Gordon cherishes "the quiet times''.

She enjoys cycling with her 11-year-old son Ronald, especially in winter.

Beyond that, reading is one of her favourite ways of passing what little spare time she has.

She never knew her father, trade union founder Dr. E.F. Gordon, who died in 1955. But she believes that her interest in politics was "in the blood''. And it is her mother, who has helped her raise her children, who she credits with instilling her with values like modesty and financial responsibility.

Many questioned Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan's campaign claim that Dr.

Gordon would be a UBP supporter if he was alive today, and Ms Gordon has faced questions about why she did not join the Progressive Labour Party.

Ms Gordon, 38, became politically aware during the late 1960s and early 1970s when the Black Power movement that began in the United States was catching on in Bermuda. It was also a time when the Island's peace was shaken by riots and other strife which she remembers "vividly''.

A furniture store next door to her house was burned to the ground, and "I remember the curfew,'' she said. "It is a time that I hope Bermuda never has to see again.'' A self-described former "socialist'' who took part in demonstrations as a youth, Ms Gordon said her political views changed when her mother fell ill.

The help that came was from unexpected quarters.

"The same people that I had assumed were the enemy were the ones who reached out,'' she said. "It was a rude awakening.'' After attending Central School and Berkeley Institute, Ms Gordon went abroad to Alma College in Ontario before returning to Bermuda.

Her 22-year-old daughter Veronica is now in England studying to be a lawyer.

It appears race is likely to dominate the political agenda in the next four years, and Ms Gordon said it was the most important problem for Bermuda to solve.

"We are just too small a community to have race separating us. "Ten years down the road, I would like to see that there is truly a place in our society for everyone, regardless of colour or creed,'' she said. "For those who are willing to try, and to work hard, that there is a place for them.'' Time could better be spent tackling problems like drugs, another Government priority in the coming term, Ms Gordon said.

She advocates workplace testing for Police, prison guards, bus drivers, and others, and suggests MPs set the example by submitting to drug testing themselves.

The Hon. Pamela Gordon.