If Keith Young gets 15 percent of the votes in tomorrow's by-election he can at least tell everyone he did better than last time.
But underdog Mr. Young is aiming higher than that. He believes enough people in Pembroke East Central are so disillusioned with Government they will change the habit of a lifetime and hand victory to the United Bermuda Party.
The 51-year-old has knocked on door after door in Constituency 16 in the past few weeks and has one simple response to whomever isn't happy with the way things are: send the Progressive Labour Party a message and vote for me.
When The Royal Gazette hit the Footpath Lane area with Mr. Young, constituents had plenty of local issues to complain about, and not just the gang problems which have blighted their community in recent months.
They needed somewhere to dump their trash; the walls protecting children from falling down a dangerous bank had crumbled away; fly-tippers had turned streets with beautiful views into eyesores; the local playground had become an overgrown no-go zone.
Mr. Young and his canvassing team of Opposition Leader Kim Swan and Senator Jeanne Atherden told people they should give the UBP a chance to put things right.
While nobody exactly invited the trio in and offered them a drink in a UBP mug, most nodded and agreed Government needs a kick up its backside.
But smiling to the UBP candidate standing on your doorstep is one thing; putting a cross next to his name on the ballot paper is something different entirely.
With 94 votes in the PLP stronghold in the 2007 General Election, Mr. Young fared worse than any other candidate from either party. In 2003, the UBP's Scott Hunter claimed just 63 votes in Pembroke East Central. The change in voting patterns Mr. Young needs to secure victory is massive.
So he advised people to use their vote as a protest.
"If this is a PLP stronghold, why are they aggrieving you? Send them a message by electing me," he told one woman who complained about trash problems.
She replied that she's always been one to go against the grain and that she would even encourage her friends to do likewise.
One young mother said she hadn't decided how she'd cast her vote, adding: "Which is shocking considering I'm a PLP member."
Mr. Young conceded that his requests for others to pull themselves away from the PLP sometimes met with a blank stare.
Nobody shut the door in his face, although he did recall one resident giving him stick because she thought he was his brother Kenneth — even though Kenneth has dreadlocks and Keith is bald.
Whether or not they're going to vote for him, residents were impressed with Mr. Young's local roots, as he pointed out his own grandchildren stand to benefit from any improvements he can make.
They were also encouraged by his ideas, such as setting up a Pembroke social club to give young people something to do instead of sitting on walls or getting into trouble.
One elderly woman complained about crime: "A lot of work has to be done; this Island is in need of prayer, lots of prayer."
However, she didn't believe it was all Government's fault, pointing out: "It takes an effort from everyone: each person. You can't rely on Government to do everything. You have to do your part too."
Banter on the doorsteps was buoyed by the enthusiasm of Mr. Swan, who was as eager to help people deal with their problems as he was to tell them to vote for Mr. Young.
Only one resident didn't warm to the UBP Leader — a menacing looking German Shepherd which had Mr. Swan back-pedalling down its owner's drive and through the gate quicker than he could say: "Vote for Keith!"
l Mr. Young holds a free legal advice community outreach event this evening at the parking lot at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Glebe Road, from 6.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. All are welcome.
