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Bailey and Smith to run for OBA in general election

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Glen Smith

Ed Bailey and Glen Smith have been confirmed as One Bermuda Alliance election candidates.The OBA’s revamped website lists Mr Bailey as running in district 34, Sandys South Central, while Mr Smith will face off against Premier Paula Cox in district 14, Devonshire North West.But mystery surrounds who the party will run against the ruling party’s Marcus Jones in district 20 Pembroke South West, currently held by Louise Jackson who is retiring.Mr Bailey, a former policeman who now sits as an acting magistrate, was born and raised in Sandys.He has been in Parliament before, having won election as a United Bermuda Party representative for the then dual seat Sandys North in 1985. He did not succeed at subsequent efforts at re-election.The past president of the Cricket Board of Control has also been a member of the Tourism Board, the Public Service Board and the Vehicle Licensing Board.His opponent in the Sandys South Central contest will be Attorney General Sen Kim Wilson who has replaced veteran politician Walter Lister who is retiring from politics.First-time candidate Mr Smith, a businessman, resigned from the Corporation of Hamilton when he was selected as a One Bermuda Alliance candidate in February this year.Ms Cox has represented the area since her first entry into Parliament in 1996 when she won a by-election in the then- dual seat district of Devonshire North, replacing party leader the late Frederick Wade.The only OBA candidate that has not been disclosed is for Pembroke South West, which takes in the affluent neighbourhoods of Point Shares and Fairylands as well as parts of North Hamilton and the City’s business district.Susan Jackson, the daughter of Louise Jackson who currently represents the district, was named in 2010 as the United Bermuda Party candidate for Southampton East Central, district 30, but that spot has now been taken by Jon Brunson.Ms Jackson would not shed any light on whether she had been selected as the district 20 candidate when contacted by The Royal Gazette last week.“I am an approved OBA candidate and have been canvassing as an OBA supporter in a number of constituencies,” Ms Jackson said in an e-mailed response to our queries.“It is the decision of the OBA Selection Committee to decide who will run in any constituency as an OBA candidate.”Ms Jackson works as a public relations manager for HSBC, and has volunteered with Government's Mirrors programme, the Bermuda National Library and the Women's Abuse Centre.“I want to give back, and I’m willing to give it my all. I am stepping forward because I believe in Bermuda. We can do better,” she said when the UBP rolled her out two years ago.

Ed Bailey