While the residents of swing constituency St George’s West are basking in the glow of a new hotel development, a boost in tourism and a buoyed local economy, they say there is still some work to be done in the Olde Towne.

We spoke to residents and business owners in Constituency 2 — being contested by the Progressive Labour Party’s Kim Swan and the One Bermuda Alliance’s Nandi Outerbridge — to get an idea where people stand in the run-up to the election.

On the day we visited St George’s, King’s Square and Water Street were full of tourists, providing a fitting background for what most constituents were discussing: a boost in tourism dollars.

But among the outstanding issues seen as a disadvantage by some was the long-called-for improvement of transportation to St George’s during off-peak times, social programming and that hotly debated topic of jobs.

Constituency 2 appears to be staying true to its reputation as a hotbed for the swing votes, with many still undecided on which candidate to choose.

Kristin White is a St George’s West business owner and resident who sits on the parish council for St George’s. She is also a consultant for the Bermuda Tourism Authority and her passion and advocacy for the town is well documented.

While she was vocal in her support for Mr Swan when he ran as an independent in 2012, she said she was still undecided on which candidate she will vote for now: “I see Kim all the time because he lives in the area, but I don’t know if either of them came to my house. I don’t know who I am supporting yet; I am hoping an independent might pop up.

“In my constituency, generally, a lot of the MPs for the area talk about issues that are more economic to do with the town because it’s so close, but I would love to get some information about social platforms for the community — we don’t have the high percentage of crime that other parishes have. St George’s is such a close-knit community, we could create change from within.

“If there are children in the neighbourhood who need assistance with lunches, etc, we have enough of a network to help, but that could be led by an MP so that we are meeting the needs of students and seniors. We talk about it on the parish council as well: if there could be a formalised way of doing what maybe happens now only via word of mouth.”

Ms White said she was encouraged by the increased tourism and economic activity in St George’s West, which she says is due in part to the work of the BTA created under the One Bermuda Alliance administration.

“Economically, things have improved in St George’s for tourism; I don’t know how much of that is OBA and how much of it is BTA. I work with the BTA and I know that they do a great deal — there was some ministerial influence and leadership and strategy, but I know also that the BTA drove their own force.”

Ms White lamented the lack of transportation to St George’s by road and by sea, called for better infrastructure and said she believed there was potential to improve social programming.

“Transportation and infrastructure are the biggest issues that we face for tourism — there is no evening ferry, no east-west bus, there is no weekend ferry or ferries in the winter.

“That is the biggest hurdle that we face. The BTA has been trying to work with the Ministry of Transport to work on that.

“We have all talked about the police station and we don’t see it opening, but I love that there are police officers walking around the town; it makes a big difference.

“There needs to be more. There were the taxi burglaries and there are people openly selling drugs in the square — things like that can definitely be improved upon.”

Unray Waldron, a senior citizen who works at Dowling’s Rubis Marine Service Station, said he had seen a positive upswing in the tourism economy in the area.

“I have been seeing a flow of tourists coming up here going to Tobacco Bay and Fort St Catherine, and I have seen quite a few weddings up at the Unfinished Church,” he said. “These are things I have seen grown in the last couple of years.

“I have seen St George’s change for the good, as far as all the tourists coming here and rebuilding and construction; the hotel and the dock, the wharf and the new area for the ferry terminal ...”

As for who will get his vote, Mr Waldron was also undecided, but said he knew more about Mr Swan than Ms Outerbridge, a comparative newcomer to the political arena.

“I don’t know too much about Nandi, but I know that Kim Swan was UBP — I talk to him quite often. He is very experienced and he has some good ideas as a politician. He is qualified to do it, but I don’t know too much about her; she is young. I am still undecided, but I will be keeping a close eye on it.”

Speaking on the bigger picture, Mr Waldron said he was tired of the political unrest that has all but defined the atmosphere surrounding the past five years.

“There is so much fighting going on. I have never seen so much fighting in my life in politics, and I have been here for a long time.”

Sarah Trott, 36, has enjoyed a career in hospitality and hopes to see the vibrancy that the Olde Towne enjoyed in years gone by. Mr Swan is a close family friend and former employer of Ms Trott’s husband, whose family are predominantly aligned with the PLP, but she remains undecided on where to place her vote.

She said: “I have not made a decision. I have met with Kim Swan, he has come to my apartment. I haven’t even met Nandi or seen her. I don’t know that much about her.

“I lived in St George’s about ten years ago and came back about four years ago. Ten years ago it was booming. I was earning $1,500 a week with two ships coming up here. When I came back, it had declined like the island as a whole. I am a hospitality person. It hurts for young people who want to come into my business.

“I hate to be discouraging because I love the field. We had the economic crisis and we are picking up from that. I did agree with the America’s Cup bringing that light towards Bermuda. We were open for the holiday and we made a lot of money because of the [Long Distance] Comet race.

“The marina would have made it better. As we see from this America’s Cup, marine tourism is where we are at now. That is easier for us as well because we don’t have a lot of land space left here. We need to encourage young people to work as crew members.

“I saw the Maltese Falcon here — big boats that you see on the Luxury Channel — and they are all here.

“My father always asked why they don’t encourage young people into seamanship. My husband was a Sea Cadet but he didn’t have anywhere to go after that.

“This summer has been the best summer. The OBA brought the America’s Cup. I can’t find a problem with that. As far as the issues internally, the PLP is more focused on that — for people who live here.”

Ms Trott said one issue close to her heart was mental health, as she has bipolar, and said that Mr Swan had shown some interest in the subject.

“He is saying that he is going to try to put that forward — it is the elephant in the room here. I was diagnosed in the States and having bipolar in the States it’s not seen as a death sentence like it is here. They raise families; they have everything they need.”

On the issue of jobs, she said: “I can’t even get into that — its six of one, half a dozen of the other.

“I have a son and he is my biggest concern. I want Bermuda to be a good place for him to come back to.

“I always liked Kim’s approach even when he was with the UBP; he wanted business development. I used to work at The George and Dragon and he always came around and said he wanted to develop businesses.”

One shop owner, who asked not to be named, is not a C2 resident but has a business based there.

She said she had already made her mind up to vote OBA, adding: “Bermuda is back on the map and I want it to stay on the map — we have a new hotel coming and that means a heck of a lot to me having a business in St George’s. I was keeping my head above water and now this year I am up 50 per cent compared with this time last year.

“We have a lot of sales due to the America’s Cup being here and all the yachts. Tons of people have been coming here for a whole month.”

Peter Harris, a busker playing pans on Water Street, said: “I will support OBA — I like their performance for the country. They are improving the economy and trying to get jobs for people because people are complaining about jobs.

“Even if the PLP get in, people will still be complaining about jobs — it is always a problem. The ruling party has done very well in getting the America’s Cup. That was such a nice thing that they have done.

“The OBA have been doing well. St George’s is doing well. I am doing well here busking.”

Kelvin Paynter said that despite the development around him, he was not happy with the OBA’s general practices.

“I don’t have too much time for Kim, but I am tired of the OBA,” he said. “Everything is transparent, so they say, and then we find out about it a couple of months down the road. I may have to go for PLP, even though I don’t like a lot of things they do.

“The hotel [St Regis], they are just piling up sand. Nobody is doing anything and I think we were sold down the road with the airport.

“Eventually, they will sell it to a few millionaires in Bermuda and they will run it.”

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